Playing the Angel

Woohoo!  If you know me, you know I *LOVE* Depeche Mode... I've loved them since I first heard People are People from a counselor at the camp where we were having family reunion back in 1984. 

In any case, I also love iTunes.  Why?  Because it means that at about 12:30am on the day of the release, the new album was already loaded onto my iPod...lol.  This is an awesome album... a soulful, etherial funkiness that I'm really liking. 

December 9th, Patriot Center, Section 102 Row D... I can hardly wait!  Now I just need to cozen a few friends into coming with me ;)

Video for Precious... awesome song!

Polka Dot Plates

Saturday, October 15th.  My car is blinking all kinds of scary lights at me, making it impossible for me to do a whole lot of anything on my own until I get it fixed, so my mom invited me to join her and my sister in some shopping that they had planned.  Shopping... that magic word that brings a little glow to the hearts of women everywhere.  Sigh.  Yes, I do enjoy shopping.  Especially when I have money and I'm really excited about what I'm doing.  Like right now, well, a little over a month ago, I bought a condo. (Photos here.) Yes.  I realize that smacks of all kinds of grown-up implications, and I'm trying to ignore all of the signs that I'm actually becoming a responsible adult.  But I'm unbelievably excited at the step I'm taking and all of the fun things that come with it like decorating and putting my stamp on something.  I've been browsing decorating magazines and websites and making lists of what I need and doing tons of comparison shopping - especially for funiture.  So when my mom mentioned that a nearby furniture outlet was having a going-out-of-business sale, I was totally up for it.  First thing I saw when I walked in the door was a cocktail table that's EXACTLY what I was looking for.  The right size, style, color and price.  It's being delivered next week. :D.  Of course, I wandered around finding everything that I want, including some gorgeous entertainment armoires (I might go back for a second look) and dining sets that just screamed my name, but took up way too much space for my little condo.  Maybe someday.  Then, along the back wall, I found a serious treasure.  It's also being delievered next week... lol.  The picture isn't very good, this is actually almost black.  My favorite thing about it?  It looks almost exactly like the très expensive dresser I fell in love with on the cover of the latest Ethan Allen catalog.  (See the similarities?)  Difference number one, I trade all the nice little curves and carvings for deeper drawers.  A very fair trade in my estimation.  Difference number two?  I paid about $1200 less for mine :D  Of course after that came Hechts where I found incredible things for my fireplace mantle along with an awesome flatwear set for $200 off.  Hechts is also where I met and fell in love with the Kate Spade Lenox china collection.  Sigh.  However, $120 a place setting along with granite countertops and tile floors are not a happy combination, so I could only look and drool in longing.  Which brings me to the picture at the top of my entry.  TJ Max, polka dot dinner plates with checked salad plates.  NICE!  I got 4 each for cheaper than one Kate Spade plate, and they'll be perfect with the black place settings I already have.  Okay, have I gushed enough?  I LOVE my polka dot plates.  They rock.  Decorating is cool... now if they would only get me a closing date so I'll be able to start my count-down to move in!

NHL Pre-Season Weekend

Wow... two hockey posts in a row.  I'm not at all excited about hockey.  Seriously.  LOL... actually, once we go to the home opener on Wednesday, it will probably be three posts in a row!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Friday night, a group of us got together for the Caps v. Pens game.  Can I profess to be completely shocked at the turn-around between the game the week before and this one?  Granted... Pitt had most of their starting line-up watching from their couches back at home, but still... the Caps looked good.  They were actually completing passes and scoring goals!   Ovechkin and Halpern rock.  Ovechkin had a hat trick, which was highly enjoyable.  Caps won, it was awesome! 

Steph and I decided, however, that just one game in a weekend wasn't enough.  So immediately after the last session of conference on Saturday, I jumped in my car to meet her at the metro and we went to the MCI center for another game... this one against Philadelphia.  I was crossing my fingers that we'd get to see Forsberg play, and we weren't disappointed!  He's amazing.  And yes, I realize that this constitutes *some* cheering for the opposing team, but come on... he was my favorite player on my favorite team for 10 years.  Some things just don't go away altogether.  In any case, we got there and went to stand in line for tickets when two guys came up and offered us some extra seats - they were just giving them away, rather than waste them, so we figured, why not?  They were nice guys and the seats were fabulous - club level, center ice.  Sweet.  This was an awesome game... I mean, they lost, but there was lots of action - fights, lots of goals, more fights, more goals... then a last minute game-tying goal by Phili, OT, regulation shoot-out, and then sudden death shoot-out.  Nail-biter, seriously.  So the Flyers won in the sudden death shoot-out.  I LOVE hockey.   Bring on the regular season!!!  (Oh, and the fight picture is for Rae... she asked me to take pictures of fights for her :D  So here you go!  Enjoy...lol).  More hockey pics here :)