oh man i love halloween. sure, it’s a great excuse to shove lots of mellowcreme pumpkins into my belleh, but the main reason is probably the whole regression to childhood thing. even though i’m an adult (cough), i get to dress up! i get to decorate my apartment with fake leaves and cheesy plastic decorations! i get to eat as much candy as i want! and of course, i get to carve pumpkins and get lots of nasty goop all over myself!

trish and chris started my halloween season off right with a pumpkin carving party at their house! little did i realize that i would be in the company of highly experienced artisans.

jeni’s hello kitty is ALMOST as cute as she is. and check out chris’ sirius black! DUDE DID YOU USE MAGIC TO CARVE THAT THING?

i brought desiree along to the party and let her pick out a design, because i’m constantly trying to prove to the world that even though i’m an only child, i can share. desiree, of course, picked out a design with A BILLION SMALL HOLES IN IT.

you might think that’s confidence on her face, but in reality, it’s the knowledge that she’s going to make me cut out 90% of those holes.

after lots of tiny sawing and several mini-twix, we turned out a pretty decent jason voorhees!

the next stop on my festive october tour was actually not halloween-related, but it was most definitely spooktacular! last saturday, the austin satellite of the rally to restore sanity was held in front of the capitol, and henri got to be the MC!

look how political he looks!!! he, of course, did a marvelous job, and the austin rally was a smashing success. check out all of these incredibly sane people:

and look, there’s henri ON THE JUMBO SCREEN!

i should probably mention that the rally wasn’t actually about henri. rather, it was a call for bipartisanship and reasonable, balanced political conversation. and guess who’s a big supporter of this idea? lizzie!

that’s right, girlfriend drove all the way from houston just to attend the rally and show her love for mr. stephen colbert!

apparently there were at least 4500 people at the capitol, which is AWESOME, and it obviously made a difference in the midterm elections because… um…

SO ANYWAY HALLOWEEN!

on saturday night (the 30th), matt and meredith came to town to join us for the zombie ball. we, of course, dressed accordingly.

I KNOW RIGHT? BIANCA’S CONTACTS WERE SO FREAKY! and that’s just a photograph! imagine trying to talk to her over dinner about menu options and GAH I COULD NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT.

that’s right, i was an 80s party zombie! or, more accurately, “whatever kind of zombie would wear this AMAZ dress i found at the thrift store for $3.80!”

george and jenny, per yooj, really brought it. they were probably the classiest zombies to ever grace (stumble upon?) this planet.

meredith and matt weren’t zombies, which was good, cos otherwise we would’ve been even more brainless at the end of the night then we already were. meredith was hit girl, and matt was big daddy! HOW PERFECT ARE THEY?

i think meredith should wear that belt every day, btw.

while waiting to get into the zombie ball, we spotted some excellent costumes. these girls were the cutest! and they even yelled “CARE BEAR STARE!” right before i took this picture.

unfortunately, we didn’t actually make it into the party due to some ticket issues. but if there’s anything pants world knows how to do, it’s PREVAIL AGAINST THE ODDS AND HAVE THE BEST NIGHT EVER. and that’s exactly what we did! i got a text from reeves telling me that she and logan were at a nearby bar, so we set off on a quest to find them!

along the way, i found this FABULOUS DONUT LADY!!!

i’ve never wanted to eat a piece of clothing so much in my life. also HELLO GUN SHOW.

caitlin joined our intrepid little group and added some housewife flair to our zombie vibe.

and we found logan and reeves! and they were dressed up like roger & jessica rabbit!!!

they’re not drunk, they’re just drawn that way.

it was definitely the most ridiculously fun night ever had by undead people. we drank, we talked, we loved the shizz out of each other!

which, for zombies, means biting. lots and lots of biting.

i know, our capacity for ridiculousness is frightening. although it’s not nearly as scary as this picture:

what do you think, guys? new facebook profile? passport picture? eh?

things got even grosser on actual halloween night, when tons of decaying flesh invaded the highball for the zombie prom. check out preacher elvis (mark) and lol cat (leslie):

seriously, major pants to mark on the hair (and grody make-up!) and leslie on the shirt, which made me giggle even more at her costume. ZOMBIE SQUEE.

there was also a celebrity undead in attendance: weird al yankovic!

ok, that’s actually henri’s co-worker john, not weird al. but the resemblance is uncanny, no?

john’s friend won the I Totally Grossed Sarah Out award for the night, which is a pretty easy award to win, actually. but you guys, look at her chin. LOOK AT HER CHIN. THERE IS A NIGHTMARE HAPPENING THERE.

AUUUGHHHH. MUST LOOK AWAY. so um let’s think about happy things! like you’ve got mail! and puppies! and hey, the cranberries!

that’s right, to open up the party, henri and greg karaoked to “zombie,” with greg singing and henri mostly going “MWWARRM. RARRWRHM.” it was spellbinding and, i’m sure, exactly the way the cranberries intended it.

since it was a prom, we didn’t just spazz to the usual jams. we also got to slow dance!!! y’all i love slow dancing! and i esp. love zombie slow dancing! because then you can disguise yr real awkwardness by pretending that yr limbs are atrophying!

even though that white make-up is terrible for my skin, i really loved being a zombie! it’s way more fun than, for example, being a depressed voter. ANYHOO! did y’all have a good halloween? what did you dress up like? and does anyone have any leftover mini reese’s peanut butter cups? that they might want to share? inquiring 80s party zombies want to know!

fortunately, there’s also totally rad things about growing up, and one of my favorites happened less than two weeks ago when my dear friend (and EAGLE SCOUT!) ray got married to a beautiful lady named juliet. ever since i witnessed ray’s super cute proposal, i have been SQUEEING WITH EXCITEMENT over their upcoming nuptials. and not just because they are *perfect* for each other and v. much in love, but also cos i knew the wedding would give me a chance to hang out with lots of pantsers, new and old!

i was esp. looking forward to seeing some of these rice faces, which, as you will see, have aged v. little! that’s the plus side of being a dork– minimal exposure to the sun’s wrinkle-causing rays. thank you, geek lifestyle!

i took that picture from the floor of the TX capitol during our road trip back in 2001. in some ways, it’s hard for me to believe that i can’t just walk back to the acabowl at wiess and joke around with these guys (and then, of course, get back to my homework). on the other hand, i’m thankful that many of them, including ray, have continued to be an important part of my life, even though we don’t live in the same dorm together (and honestly, i’m ok with that part).

ok, enough with the sentimentality, let’s get to the PARTY!

since juliet grew up in lehigh valley, all of the festivities were held in that area, beginning with the rehearsal dinner at the banana factory. i would insert a joke about the name but ray already wore all of them out.

i could barely contain my excitement that this wedding was FINALLY HAPPENING!!! there was so much love and pantship in the air, which makes for v. flattering photographs, btw.

and HEY! recognize these guys?

it’s danny and tim!!! i think i hugged them at least 10 time each. maybe more. my heart just couldn’t help itself!

it was also really heart-warming to watch all of the people in juliet and ray’s lives meet each other. reese and seth, for example, totally hit it off:

during the dinner, ray opened up the floor to speeches because someone* had asked if she could make a speech because SHE REALLY LIKES TOASTS. it turns out that she was the only one who took advantage of the microphone, but she didn’t care, cos she got to tell juliet and ray how much she loves them AND she finally got to spill the secret of what ray wore in his senior class photo.**

*YES OK IT WAS ME.
**privileged info, suckas!

in return for embarrassing ray, i got a present! and the bag matched henri! because my boyfriend happens to enjoy pastel pink!

after dinner, we decided to get some drinks at the sands, a local casino. due to a car shortage, we had to ask tim to lay in the trunk. and actually, there wasn’t a car shortage. we just wanted to put tim in the trunk. because HE’S TINY!

we had to swing by the hotel first, which is where i discovered the Ultimate Party Machine. no, i’m not talking about henri, nor am i talking about a karaoke/dance dance revolution combo that also dispenses tequila shots, although that would be cool and if there’s any inventors out there HAVE AT IT (just give me a prototype kthx). i’m talking about RAY’S MOM! BECAUSE SHE IS AMAZING!

the woman carried her beer back with her to the hotel in a plastic cup because she didn’t want to waste it. RAY’S MOM YOU ARE MY HERO. i mean, i always knew she was cool but DANG!

anyway, we finally made it to the sands…

… only to discover that it was crowded and full of chain-smoking, sweatshirt-wearing gambling addicts. oh yeah, like every casino.

so instead we hit up the brew works, a great bar just around the corner from our hotel. pants world christened it as our warren’s for the weekend, and we treated it as such.

dude, that’s like, three of my worlds colliding: rice world (jesse) + houston world (daniel) + FYA world (erin)! SUPERNOVA OF YAY!

everyone had a blast catching up and palling around, and of course we were on our best warren’s behavior.

the next day was when RAY AND JULIET GOT MARRIED OMG!!!!

some of the wedding party rode in a shuttle because the church was super far away. but also because we are v. classy.

i don’t know if it was the natural light or the fanciness of the shuttle or the happiness of the day, but DAYUM everyone looked good!

WHAT UP GQ CONVENTION 2010!

that’s greg, who was juliet’s brides-dude (just like i was ray’s groomslady) and sanj, who later went on to give a fantastic toast at the wedding which then led everyone to start calling ray “the little guy” which he LOVED.

and HEY PRETTY LADIES!!!!

i can say with great authority that if you ever get to ride in a shuttle equipped with LED lights and champers, you definitely want these two as yr co-pilot.

once we got to the church, ray opened up juliet’s present to him, which was SURPRISE RELATED TO STAR WARS.

in return, he gave her a green rubber bracelet that says, “BP believes in you.” i’ll let you decide who got the better end of the deal.

the ceremony went off without a hitch, and before they knew it, these lovebirds were HITCHED 4 LIFE! or, as the priest chose to put it, “THE DOORS ARE LOCKED AND THE KEY HAS BEEN THROWN AWAY.” i’ve never seen prisoners look this happy:

seriously, how gorgeous is juliet?!!!

in order to fully document how ridiculously good looking everyone in the wedding party was, we proceeded to take a bazillion pictures, first near a covered bridge (where we had to fight off another wedding party, NOT EVEN KIDDING. bridal throwdown!) and then on the golf course of the country club (where the reception was held). and you know the best part about being on a golf course? DRIVING GOLF CARTS!!!!

the only thing better than driving golf carts is using them to take loced out gangsta pictures.

who needs a covered bridge when you’re rockin’ the cart?

seriously, it was like a catalog shoot up in there. J. CREW EAT YR HEART OUT.

speaking of eating yr heart out, LOOK AT MY SUPER SWEET SPARKLY BETSEY JOHNSON’S!

ok, ok, back to the real reason we were there. check out juliet and ray looking supremely stately and elegant!

aww they’re so in love!! i’m in love with their in loveness!!!!

FINALLY the photographer released all of us supermodels so we could go stare at the food while smoking a thousand cigarettes. ha ha, just kidding, that’s only what real supermodels do. although i did do my fair share of staring at this cake (but only cos i wasn’t allowed to eat it yet):

now, y’all know i’m a texas girl at heart, but i have to say that there’s one area where pennsylvanians really have us beat. see, they have this tradition of bringing baked goods to weddings, sort of like a church potluck but minus the lame casserole part. in other words, we had wedding cake AND we had this vast array of homemade tasty business!!!

i am totally gonna start up this tradition in texas. and not just at weddings! it’s gonna be a requirement for every special occasion, including my birthday and wednesdays! it shouldn’t be too hard to pull this off, esp. since henri and i have already created the tradition of being as sparkly as possible for… well, every day.

before the dance party began (because obvs that’s the whole purpose of a wedding reception), i got to do some socializing, and i was especially excited to see jay, whom i hadn’t seen since he himself became a married man.

hold the phone, i just realized i made a huge error. correction: dance parties are ONE of the main purposes of receptions. the other is, of course, APPLE ROULETTE!

um, georgeann, that’s not how you play.

THIS is how you play:

this particular apple proved to be QUITE the opponent. it even took on the bride!

eventually, though, it was no match for our combined skill. and by that i mean, henri’s forehead.

those with weak hearts and tender minds may want to avert their eyes. the casualties of war are never pretty, my friends.

YOU’RE APPLE JUICE NOW, SUCKA!

finally, it was time for the main event (i mean, besides the ray and juliet getting married thing), ushered in by this adorable tiny dancer (juliet’s nephew):

after lil’ lord of the dance kicked things off, pants world hit the floor! come with us on a journey through the ages of the dance party…

on the first day, dance party created polka!

and on the second day, dance party kept it classy!

on the third day, dance party came out swingin’.

for the fifth day, dance party created adorableness:

and on the sixth, dance party provided THE ERICAS!

and on the final day, dance party BROUGHT THE CRAY!!!!! seriously, watch people go from doing the chicken dance straight into the cotton eyed joe. THIS DANGEROUS TRANSITION HAS NEVER BEEN ATTEMPTED BEFORE.

lucky for the DJ, pants world is full of cotton eyed joe professionals:

josh, cue the dance party magic!

seriously, pants world should be hired out for weddings. i mean, sure, a DJ is important, but what about dancers who can FIST PUMP LIKE CHAMPIONS?

not to mention get low (low low low low low loooow)?!!!

how often do you take a picture, mid-dance party, and capture AMAZING expressions on every single person’s face? NOT OFTEN. that’s how you can tell that pants world is full of highly trained experts.

many thanks to ray and juliet for making this dance party extravaganza possible. it’s pretty obvious that everyone truly enjoyed themselves.

some of them a little too much, maybe.

did i mention that henri became besties with the priest, who told him all about his younger days on the wildwood boardwalk, where they all drank spoliolis, which is a mixture of cheap beer and cheap wine? and that henri then ordered said drink from the bar? and it was actually not half bad?

so when i say that we had so much fun it was unreal, now you know i’m not even exaggerating. THIS WEDDING TOOK US TO A HIGHER PLANE, Y’ALL.

usually, i hate it when a dance party ends, but ray and juliet made even the close of the reception a wonderful thing. in fact, i think it was my favorite moment of the entire night. THIS IS OUR LAST DANCE… UNDER PRESSURE.

and this is ourselves, full of love and joy and celebration.

congratulations, ray and juliet!!! may you LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

so, without further ado, here’s a sample of the freedoms we are so v. lucky to have thanks to AMERICA!

that’s right, i broke out the ANIMATED GIFS. that’s how much i heart this country.

1. freedom of party themes

in america, we have the right to theme our parties in whatever way we choose. this is a HUGE right that i think a lot of us take for granted. i mean, how would you feel if the government told you you could only have a last airbender birthday party but you really wanted a harry potter one instead? obvs that would be an egregious violation of yr god-given american rights! not to mention a totally lame party!

i celebrated this freedom on the fourth of july at chris and trish’s house, where they threw a British America Party. we ate shepherd’s pie and crumpets, drank pimm’s cups and watched old james bond movies. in other countries, this might be considered treachery or, at the v. least, terrorism. but america chose not to interfere with our bloody good time, because america loves fun.

i didn’t take pictures at the party (I KNOW! WHO AM I?!) but here’s a delicious representation of a pimm’s cup, aka what we all would be drinking right now if our forefathers had just simmered down a little.

2. freedom to move to warmer, more awesome cities

there are lots of people who live in places where it snows, and for some unfathomable reason, they like it. but what about the people that are tired of knit hat hair and losing fingers and toes and basically dying a little inside every time they have to leave their house? in some countries, those people just have to suck it up cos THERE’S NO WARM PLACE TO GO. but in america, we have plenty of different climates to choose from (well, for now), and we’re free to move to any city we want to live in!

i applauded this freedom on the fourth by visiting george and jenny cos THEY LIVE HERE NOW OMG!!!!!!! in fact, they arrived in the ATX on independence day itself, and their move was thankfully not interrupted by an alien invasion. so now they are free to eat queso, drink margaritas and do this as much as they want to:

3. freedom to drink cocktails of any color

obvs racism is still a v. serious problem for people around the globe, but i’m here to talk about a lesser known (and obvs lesser evil) form of racism: cocktail coloring. maybe you’ve never heard of it, so allow me to paint a graphic picture for you:

you walk into an ordinary neighborhood bar. you just enjoyed a mini sex & the city marathon, and you’re craving a cosmo like nobody’s business. the bartender says, “what’ll it be?” and you reply, with a hint of sass (cos you’re SO carrie), “i’ll have a cosmo, please!” then the bartender yells, “WE DON’T SERVE THAT KIND HERE!” and PUNCHES YOU IN THE FACE. all because you ordered a pink drink. CHILLING, ISN’T IT?

here in the united states, we can drink cocktails of all colors! red, white, green or black, they’re all fair game for yr liver! i chose to celebrate this particular freedom while at my friend carter and tary’s dinner party by drinking a V. V. BLUE MARTINI.

dazzling, isn’t it? that’s AMERICAN FREEDOM RIGHT THERE. v. delicious, liquid freedom.

4. freedom to wrap puff pastry around hot dogs and make it tasty business

sure, you might be laughing right now, thinking to yrself, “anyone can make pigs in a blanket!” well that’s where you would be WRONG, SUCKA! but this is america, where we suffer fools gladly, so it’s ok.

most people in this country make the mistake of assuming that everyone around the world has access to puff pastry. even worse, they believe that pigs in a blanket are a globally acknowledged food item. THIS IS BLATANT IGNORANCE. you think people behind the berlin wall could just walk down to their local grocery store and buy puff pastry? I DON’T THINK SO.* you think people in communist countries are allowed to even purchase hot dogs, let alone know the intricate steps involved in making pigs in a blanket? OF COURSE NOT! because hot dogs are a symbol of america! and evil governments hate america, so they will attempt to repress and even punish any attempts at making pigs in a blanket.

i proudly enjoyed this freedom on the fourth thanks to carter and tary’s amazing culinary skills. and also, if anyone in north korea is reading this post, i’m sorry to rub this tasty business in yr face but STAY STRONG!

*i mean, i’m not 100% positive, but i’m pretty sure.

5. freedom to eat all types of mac & cheese, regardless of color, size or ingredients

THIS IS MY FAVORITE FREEDOM!!!!!! well, after, like, getting to vote. and also voice dissent. ok, this is my favorite *tasty business* freedom. and if i need to explain to you why this needs to be celebrated, well, you’re obvs new to pants town (if so, welcome! and also, i really hope you like reading about food. and pants).

that’s right, carter and tary had FOUR VARIATIONS of mac & cheese at their party. because they are amazing. and also true americans.

6. freedom to watch fireworks in the company of adorable children

every country has children in its population. but does every country have adorable children? after seeing “babies,” i would have to say yes. BUT does every country let you watch fireworks with its adorable children? MAYBE. and when it comes to this vital experience, i can’t accept uncertainty. i need a gosh darn YES, and guess which country is giving me that 100% guarantee?

AMERICA THAT’S WHO! so on sunday, i had the distinct privilege of watching an awesome fireworks display alongside these super super excited kiddos:

the best part? they gave *every* *single* firework an enthusiastic response. because they’re real americans, and real americans don’t discriminate. watch this video and prepare to be INSPIRED:

and that, pants world, is just a FEW of the reasons why i am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. WHERE AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE… to drink colored cocktails, eat all types of mac & cheese and, most importantly, be any kind of pants i want to be!

so, now it’s yr turn to get all starry and stripey! what freedoms did YOU celebrate on the fourth?

more costume parties!!!

fortunately, henri agrees with me, which is why he (via the action pack) threw a superhero party at the highball last week!

unfortunately, henri likes to wear v. embarrassing costumes. thus, the reappearance of the greatest american hero!

co-action packer greg sported the “batman forever” robin suit, complete with nipples! of course he did.

i know i should’ve gone for something different, but when you own a mega sparkly, hot pink wig, HOW CAN YOU RESIST BEING TRULY TRULY TRULY OUTRAGEOUS?

and before you embarrass yrself by asking me such a dumb question, i DO consider jem a superhero, because hello, she totally has special powers thanks to Synergy, not to mention the magic inherent in her rocking. and need i mention her AWESOME WARDROBE? i’m sorry, she-ra, but jem puts you to shame in the fashion department.

here’s a shot of me and bianca, who dressed as the punisher (and totes has the fierceness to match!):

why, yes, i AM wearing silver eyelashes! thanks for noticing!

henri actually changed costumes halfway through, because he’s a diva. james made a v. convincing clark kent, while caitlin created her own superhero. any character that sports sequined shoulder pads automatically deserves RESPECT.

while i love flossie (my camera), she’s no match for the power of annie ray, who ran a mega glam photo booth during the party. check out these pics of us looking FAMOUS:

seriously, look how luscious and glittery my wig looks!!! that’s like, disney princess hair, y’all.

it turns out that there are a LOT of superheroes in austin. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised, cos no matter how strong you are, *everyone* has a weakness for queso and margaritas. if that’s not kryptonite, i don’t know what is.

i got to meet dr. horrible…

… and the powerpuff girls!!

i totally swimfanned over phoenix, not only cos she’s my fave x-man but also cos girlfriend SEWED THIS COSTUME HERSELF. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? then again, she IS phoenix, so i guess if she can destroy entire planets, she can bend a sewing machine to her will.

speaking of homemade costumes, um check out this iron man!!!

those lights actually lit up!! incredible!! i wonder if he can pee in his suit, too?

and here’s dr. strange, busting a move!

it’s a bird! it’s a plane! no, it’s… CHRIS OLIVES!!!

that’s right, he’s awesome enough to be his own superhero. the same goes for our friend moe, whose main power seems to be Incredible Facial Expressions:

would you mess with that face? i don’t think so.

batman finally met his match when he came face to face with… another batman! oh dang. henri better hope that’s george clooney under there and not michael keaton. cos george is charming and all, but michael will cut a bish. hello, have you seen “the dream team”?!!

even though all of the costumes were pretty great, my favorite was definitely mighty mouse. because he was so tiny! and so spunky!

spandex partners-in-crime! and i mean that literally. because spandex should be against the law.

halfway through the night, henri and greg hosted a costume contest and put all of the superheroes to the ultimate test: A DANCE-OFF!

in spite of their brazilliant costumes, none of the contestants could hold a candle to the wonder women dancers who grooved and sashayed all night long (now THAT is a super power). it helps that they had ariel, the DJ, as their power source. he was like that demon in the musical buffy episode that can make you sing and dance against yr will, except that with ariel, everyone was MORE than willing to yield to his powers (and no one burst into flames, so that was nice).

fueled by the magic of ariel & his wonder women, we spent the night putting our super powers to use on the dance floor!

and you may not be surprised to learn that there were a few epic battles as well:

if i were you, batman, i would NOT mess with trish. she’s got a killer FACE PUNCH.

it was definitely another magnificent night at the highball. in fact, i wouldn’t mind being a superhero full time! well, except for the crime-fighting parts. maybe i’ll leave that to batman and just focus on making truly outrageous music videos and thwarting the misfits.

so, fair citizens, if you have a bottle of champers that needs rescuing, YOU KNOW WHO TO CALL.

and guess what you guys! i got to see BOTH of them in the same weekend! and oh it made my heart super duper happy, esp. cos they’re hitting major MAJOR milestones: kendall got married, and i found out that mary’s pregnant… WITH TWINS! oh blah di TO THE MAX!!!

friday afternoon, mary picked me up at the baltimore airport, and i promptly shattered her eardrums with my squee when she shared her exciting news. we drove to DC, where she lives with her hubby, john, in this lovely rowhouse:

they didn’t really know i was taking their picture, thus the blank stares. but here’s some smiles for you:

yay! after mary and i convo-ed it up while sitting in their sweet little backyard, the three of us headed to poste, this lovely patio bar that serves DELICIOUS PUNCH. LOOK HOW REFRESHING THIS IS:

GAH. why did i have to take such a delicious picture that now taunts me with its inaccessibility?!!!

the patio was full of lots of dr. professional looking people, and when i asked about it, mary said, “well, people just come straight from work.” and i was like, “ha ha, if this was austin, people would be in jeans and flip flops, even if they came straight from the office!” and while my anti-pantyhose policy and i do love austin’s laidback style, it was kind of fun to be around so many people that seemed, as bridget jones would say, v. busy and important.

and here’s me and mary, being friends!

and here’s us doing the same thing, but ten years ago! and with costumes!

the reason we look so AWESOME is thanks to the annual rice archi arts party. that year (2000), the theme was “lyric,” and i went dressed up as “the ladybug’s picnic,” and i think (?) mary went as “margaritaville.” this is just one of my many fantastic rice memories featuring mary, which span from will rice o-week (when we first met) to late nights at the thresher to reading the sunday times in our sunny little breakfast nook.

anyhoo, after some quality patio time, the two of us walked over to proof, a totally tasty business establishment. we even scored a table outside, continuing my SUMMER 2010 WORLD PATIO TOUR, but unfortunately that meant there was no light for any food pictures. in fact, they even give you a mini-flashlight to read the menu cos it’s so dark! which i think is adorable, although i’m sure lots of people wonder why they can’t just turn up the lights a little.

dinner was delicious, but the chance to talk with mary, just the two of us, was more precious to me than food. and y’all know that’s, like, my highest compliment.

the next day, we decided to check out the open house at all of the EU embassies, because i am, at heart, a totally cheesy tourist. but i mean, come on, when do regular people like me ever get to step foot inside an embassy?! and i never pass up on an opportunity to feel super cosmo and spy pants.

oh and did i mention that the weather was PERFECT? unlike austin, where summer has quickly taken over, dc is still brimming with spring!

our first embassy stop was slovenia, a country i know v. little about. fortunately, there were all of these posters inside with the heading, “did you know…” and i was like, THANK YOU, solvenia, because i did not, in fact, know that you take great pride in yr bee-keeping and highly agile people (they had this test where you jumped on a mat and they gave you an agility score. john tried it out but was not happy with his result, so apparently slovenia does NOT pride itself on accurate tests).

the next stop was the netherlands, and it was my FAVORITE because the inside looked EXACTLY like what i have come to expect from an embassy, based solely on all of the spy movies i’ve seen. unfortunately, they didn’t let people take pictures inside, but here’s the outside:

everything was so STATELY! seriously, i really wish i was from the netherlands so i could seek diplomatic immunity and lounge around on the posh furniture while gazing at incredible dutch master oil paintings. most opulent asylum EVER!

we didn’t go inside the irish embassy, cos the line was INSANE (john: “they must be serving pints of guinness in there!”), but we did stop for a moment to watch these super cute tiny dancers:

my favorite was the littlest girl on the far right, obvs!

it wasn’t nearly as fancy, but bulgaria came close to rivaling the netherlands for my affections because they served us these delicious cheese egg pastry things and WINE!!! now THAT is how to be a good ambassador, y’all.

we finished up our tour with a visit to estonia, which i still cannot believe is a real country. i mean, isn’t that where anne hathaway lives in “the princess diaries”?

all of that diplomacy made us super hungry, so we got some sandwiches from taylor, this INCREDIBLY TASTY deli that gets its bread daily from some famous place in philadelphia. i had grilled chicken, sharp provolone and broccoli rabe and it was AMAZING!!!

after lunch, mary and john v. nicely drove me back to baltimore for kendall’s wedding, held at the engineer’s club, which right next to the washington monument. and i mean the non-DC, less phallic one:

after i checked into the hotel (right across the street), i wandered around the monument, which was playing host to a flower festival/flea market. it was definitely one of those brochure days:

soon it was time for the wedding, and since i was a reader, i got there early, which gave me lots of time for pictures. check out the posh entry way:

seriously, the engineers club is FANCY PANTS. like, i immediately felt rich when i stepped inside, and y’all know how much i love feeling rich. i mean, this room alone should make the netherlands jealous:

and yes, those ARE family photos on the fireplace mantle! check out kendall’s parents:

kendall and her mom look almost exactly alike, meaning they’re both incredibly gorgeous. that was the first thing i noticed about kendall when we met back in college through the one act plays at will rice (during our sophomore year). the second thing i noticed was her love of all things whimsical and sparkly, which are, not coincidentally, the perfect terms to describe her wedding. from the program…

… to the thumb leaf tree, which she set up in lieu of a guestbook. everyone left their thumbprint and name on the tree– HOW CUTE IS THAT? the instructions even said, “leaf your thumbprint on our family tree” because kendall knows how to be awesome and cheesy.

the wedding began with the entrance of the most adorable and totally traumatized flower girl ever:

she was so scared! which only made her cuter!

then came the adorable ring bearer:

and finally, the radiant kendall and her proud papa:

i don’t think i’ve ever seen her look more beautiful, probably because i’ve never seen her so happy. i mean, just LOOK at her, gazing at mo, her charming and v. lucky husband:

i felt honored to be a part of the wedding, but even more, i felt so lucky to witness this amazing display of love and joyful commitment.

but enough about love, let’s talk CAKE!!!!!!!

and just like in the happy category, kendall did NOT disappoint. GET A LOAD OF THIS INCREDIBLE SPLENDOR:

and btw, that flower/bird pattern was also in the invitation, because kendall has a great eye for color and design. when we lived together, her room was, like, straight out of a style magazine, whereas mine was more like “good hoard-keeping.”

and if you thought THAT cake was awesome, wait til you see the groom’s cake which was actually created by THE ACE OF CAKES!! i am not even joking!!!! they even came to the reception and filmed part of it!! kendall contacted them and apparently they found her idea unusual, which isn’t surprising, since i don’t think there’s many people out there who even know what this is:

i mean, *i* don’t even know what it is, specifically, although i do know that it is some kind of surgery robot that mo uses in his work (he and kendall are both doctors). at first i just thought it was a transformer, esp. cos i was too distracted by the cuteness of the edible kendall, mo and their dog lily!

major pants to kendall in the cake arena. and the best part? IT ACTUALLY TASTED GOOD. now *that* is impressive.

while the staff set up for dinner, we mingled in the lobby and the ballroom, which was totes old school and classy:

and bonus: THERE WERE COOKIES AND MILK SHOTS! WHAT WHAT!

i love it when people actively encourage me to spoil my dinner.

but it turns out, there was an even bigger bonus than cookies to tide us over til dinner. THIS LADY WITH CANDLES ON HER HEAD!

yeah, that lady is a PARTY STARTER. upon her entrance (plus the drum guys), the ballroom became a mass of hip shaking, culminating in kendall getting raised up by some guys like the queen that she is:

by the time we got into the dining room, it had transformed into a delightful fairy land!

now, let’s talk people, because no matter how good the cake is, the awesomeness of a wedding really depends on the people. obvs, my main priority was catching a few minutes with kendall, because i hadn’t seen her in about two years!

i can’t express how glad i was to be there, to see her happiness and catch a glimpse of this new chapter in her life. i was actually the only college friend in attendance, and that made me feel even more like an ambassador of the world we shared, both in college and on marshall street. this is the girl who explored ireland with me after we graduated, who loved jazzercise as much i did (i know, right?) and ate bagels with me at einstein’s every friday. this is the girl who watched me freak out and make mistakes and stumble around until i found more stable footing in my life. and i watched her do the same. so it was with joy and yes, pride, that i served as a representative of that piece of her life, a living testament to where she’s been and how far she’s come.

speaking of where she’s been…

if you couldn’t tell from the breathtaking scenery, that’s us in ireland, right after we graduated from college in 2001.

of course, kendall was the obvs the belle of the ball, so i didn’t expect to spend to much time with her. fortunately, i managed to meet some new friends!

first, this little guy, effortlessly rocking a suit that hipsters around the world would DIE for:

and the other inhabitant of adorabletown, angus! aka mini justin timberlake!

HOW PRESH IS HE?!!!!! angus lives in spain, which means his parents are super cool euro people who know how toddlers should be dressed. he later discarded his hat and jacket so he could get crazy on the dance floor:

GAH ANGUS WHY DO YOU LIVE IN SPAIN AND NOT IN MY POCKET?!!!!

on the adult side of the guest list, i totally bonded with amna, kendall’s med school bestie and the only person (besides kendall’s immediate fam) that i’d actually met before the wedding. one of the first things amna said to me was, “I CAN’T WAIT TIL THE DANCING STARTS,” which made me love her immediately.

yeah, we pretty much owned the dance floor, along with kendall’s hilarious cousin, hallie, and her dad, who was basically a party with a tie on.

seriously I LOVE THESE TWO PEOPLE SO MUCH. i mean, LOOK AT THEM:

they are PROFESSIONALS AT FUN. and when they teamed up with amna and me, we were like an unstoppable force of dance party.

kendall wasn’t too shabby, either!

but as the bride, she had to be sorta kinda dignified. amna and i… did not.

i think amna should switch from practicing orthopedics to focusing on whatever organ is responsible for dance parties cos the girl has a GIFT.

after the reception ended, kendall’s mom decided to keep the party going (because she is amazing), so a small group of us headed down to the basement of the engineer’s club, where we talked, laughed and took goofy pictures like this:

when you have an afterparty in a basement, you know you’ve thrown a dang good wedding.

and, as if that wasn’t enough festivity-having, the next morning we all met up for brunch at the top of the hotel!

the view was fantastic, which was good, cos the faces of the afterparty-goers were NOT much to look at (y’all, the brunch started at 9! please! that is just CRUEL!).

in spite of my exhaustion, it was a lovely way to wrap up the wedding celebration, and i even got more convo time with kendall, who is leaving tomorrow for her honeymoon to south africa! i can say from experience that she is an excellent traveling partner, so i know she and mo are going to have the best time ever, being all adventurous and international! just stay away from the malaria, guys!

even now, as i’m writing this, my heart is doing a little happy dance for these two ladies, my former roommates, my current (and forever!) friends. they are both so amazing, and i feel incredibly lucky to not only have shared pieces of their pasts, but to be a part, no matter how small, of their amazing presents and brilliant futures.

congratulations, my dear, beautiful, fabulous marshall st. girls, for not just hitting a milestone, but passing it with flying colors. i love you!

ok so you know how i take a lot of pictures all of the time and it sort of gets out of hand? well, let me tell you right now that only a fifth of my total photos from this weekend made it into this post. in other words, prepare yrself for a PICTORAL ONSLAUGHT of tasty business and pantsing! EXTREME BIRTHDAY IN YR FACE!!!!

FRIDAY

friday afternoon, george and jenny arrived in the atx from boston and immediately made their way towards margaritas and queso. because they are texas professionals. meanwhile, i was at work eating the delicious cake sally baked for me AND the insanely addictive popcorn tofu from wheatsville that my awesome resfig mentors got for me (and yes, when i wasn’t eating, i was squeeing). once i got off work, henri and i took george and jenny to south congress cafe, where we enjoyed deliciousness such as white truffle macaroni and cheese WITH BACON?!!!!!

yeah there’s other stuff on that plate but who cares?

i ordered the chile relleno with steak and… wait for it, wait for it… CORNBREAD FUNNEL CAKE!!!

it’s a good thing my tummy had not yet officially turned 31, otherwise it might have been too old to handle such richness. ha ha just kidding. my tummy will never be too old to handle tasty business! even if a nurse has to put my mac & cheese in a blender, I WILL FIND A WAY TO CONSUME IT.

anyway! after dinner, we headed over to the highball, where i got to open some presents! yes! check out this adorbs belt buckle selina gave me:

erica bought me a gift certificate for a massage (i’ve never had one! i know!), so i kept telling everyone, “erica gave me my first massage!” and everyone laughed because they are not v. mature people.

we rented out the tiki karaoke room at the highball and then filled it up with some of my favorite pantsers, like erica and sally!

john, selina and jen!

meredith and matt, straight outta h-town!

seriously, this is pretty much my version of heaven– lots of people i love, all together, with free flowing cocktails and a karaoke machine. that’s like the essential toolkit for eternal life!

also, as an extremely cheesy person, it made me really really happy to see george and jenny hanging out with all of my friends and everyone loving each other. FRIENDS BEING FRIENDS!!!!!

and in case you’re wondering, YES I WAS WEARING MY CAKE HAT!!!!!

for a while, anyway. but then i rocked too hard and it had to be removed before further rocking. you may not be surprised to learn that it eventually ended up on henri’s head.

ok, enough talking, er, writing! i think it’s time to get to some ridiculous karaoke pics! amber and sally, what do you say?

not to brag or anything, but pants world pretty much OWNS karaoke, y’all. we’re the real deal, the triple threat (dancing, singing and acting stupid). selina and erica sang “party in the USA” and managed NOT to make it annoying a la miley cyrus. that’s a pretty amazing feat.

i mean, just LOOK at this emotion, people. and those fingernails!

henri and i performed our often-requested (by us) duet to ‘n sync’s “gone,” featuring an emotional breakdown by henri…

… that led to him performing the grand finale while slumped in the corner. i’d like to see you try THAT, justin timberlake! no really, i would like to see you. in my karaoke room. immediately.

true to her jersey roots, erica belted out “living on a prayer” with rock-out accompaniment provided by greg.

it didn’t take long for shizz to get CRAZYTOWN! we’re talking double life gonzo, intensity in ten cities, live at bouttacot! in other words, we wailed even harder than crucial taunt!

sally had to shield her face from the rocking!!!!! and meredith had to fan herself in order to avoid spontaneous combustion from AWESOMENESS!

i was a little concerned for george, jenny and sally, seeing as this was only their second time to EVER do karaoke. i don’t know why i was worried, though, cos they handled it like Total Pros.

sally even donned the costume that comes with the tiki room, because she knows that if you’re gonna do karaoke right, you gotta do it PANTS TO THE WALL.

tommy and selina provided essential back-up dancing to pretty much every song in the last hour, which made me feel v. v. special. i mean, who hasn’t dreamed of having their own personal fly girls? too bad i didn’t bring knee pads.

they were eventually joined by a few others for one of the most dancer-required songs in history: ADDICTED TO LOVE!

i’m sure you can tell that i was having THE BEST TIME EVER. i mean, the dancing! the rocking! and most of all, THE LOVE!

the absolute pinnacle of the night came when someone signed up for the most crowd-pleasing song of all time. that’s right, i’m talking about UNDER THE SEA!!! literally every girl in the room squealed, ran to the front and then rocked this song harder than guns ‘n’ roses on a bender.

seriously. BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE LITTLE MERMAID.

i don’t think disney has ever been this hardcore. nor has jenny’s face.

that’s totally my favorite picture of the night, so i’ll just leave it at that!

SATURDAY

you guys know how much i love brunch. it really doesn’t get any better than delicious breakfast AND lunch food plus mimosas. but wait, IT DOES. because you can have brunch… ON A BOAT!!!!!!!

POSHEST BRUNCH EVERRRRRR!!!!!! we rented a boat on lady bird lake, and meredith and matt graciously provided the tasty business!!!

if you know matt, this goes without saying, but those biscuits and muffins are homemade, as are the strawberry preserves! WHAT WHAT!!! oh brunch items i wish to encounter you again!

we spent two absolutely blissful hours cruising around the lake, stuffing our faces and sipping on mimosas. i was then required to take a portrait of everyone BEING RICH!

tell me about yr villa in the south of france, rich meredith!

gimme the stats on that racehorse you just purchased, rich matt!

show me the pollack you recently acquired from sotheby’s, rich erica!

now where again is that small tropical island you just bought, rich jenny and george?

as rich sarah, i salute all of my fellow multi-millionaires!!!

even though this boat is half the size of the smallest one in yr extensive yacht fleet, thank you for serving as the captain, rich henri!

and yes, thanks to erica, henri can now sport a gold jacket, gold watch, gold nikes AND a GOLD BOW-TIE!!!! we’re talking midas levels of bling here.

it was a lovely, lovely, LOVELY afternoon, full of austin being pretty…

… and even a dog on a kayak! yay! hi doggie! come here so i may pet you!

as you can imagine, the two birthday pants were pretty proud of themselves for their highly scientific discovery of How To Make Brunch Even More Awesome. they plan on publishing a paper soon, but need to do more research so… how does next weekend sound?

back on land (boo!), we stopped by a new store on second street (adorbs!) where i purchased THESE TWO AMAZING AND EXTREMELY COMPLIMENTARY RINGS!!!!!!

I KNOW YOU GUYS I KNOW!!!!!!!! i always say i want to eat my hand, cos i get so hungry all of the time, but now i really mean it!

later that evening, we met everyone up on henri’s pool deck for an evening of grilling and pantsing. we asked sally and brencho to serve as our grill masters, and they happily obliged. here’s sally with some yummy veggies (also, it was really, really windy up there, as you can see):

john brought cookies AND a cookie cake, because he knows that every dinner party requires at least two of the cookie food groups.

josh and erica brought some fruit salad as well as some PEPSI MAX CEASE FIRE, which apparently cools the burn. the label reads, “so prepare yr mouth for the pleasure of two highly reactive flavors.” i know, i know, that’s what she… sigh.

back at the grill, brencho was DOMINATING THE MEAT!!!!!

while sally was certainly a harsh grill mistress! totes fierce!

that meat knew who was boss, y’all. and it was DELICIOUS.

and you know a pants world bbq wouldn’t be complete with some mac ‘n’ cheese, provided by caitlin!

you may wonder, “what idea was forming in henri’s head when that picture was taken?”

well, wonder no more!

that may seem gross but honestly, even *i* thought it was a good idea. i mean, the only thing missing to complete the trifecta would have been a cookie! but don’t worry, i took care of THAT (with a v. hands on approach).

the bbq was a relaxing, super fun way to spend the first part of saturday night, and even the cray cray wind couldn’t blow away the smiles on our faces (aww!).

we finished off the night with a dance party at, where else, the highball! and guess what! henri and i got to host it cos it was for our birthday!!

it was a pretty easy job, actually. all i said was, “yay it’s my birthday!” and “let’s dance!” cos really, what else matters?

i always love hanging out at the highball, but saturday night will reign supreme in my visitor archive, cos every time i looked around, i saw a face that i loved!

like meredith’s smiley face! and josh’s surprised face!

and chris and trish’s happy faces!!!

and, most importantly, everyone’s DANCE FACES!!!!!!!

erica’s pretty much made an art form out of the Dance Face.

henri programmed some of my favorite dance music, from the Super Serious Slow Dance…

… to my favorite i-cannot-control-my-booty-cos-i-love-this-song-so-much track, “low”! GET LOW E’RYBODY!

i would definitely say this dance party was a smashing success, and i think even non pants worlders would agree! hello, look at all of those glow sticks! people don’t wave glow sticks unless they are feeling v. satisfied with their party experience.

SUNDAY

we ended the birthday weekend at the only place posh enough, the only restaurant tasty enough, to do justice to our pantsing: the four seasons brunch!!!!

and ooooh it was glorious! here’s my first plate:

here’s my second plate (those mashed potatoes were DIVINE):

and, last but definitely not least, my dessert plate!!!!

yeah, that’s right, i took not one but THREE rice krispie treats for a dip in the chocolate fountain. and then i invited them into my tummy!

in order to avoid a terminal case of food coma, i wrapped up the meal with an espresso. and LOOK IT MATCHED MY RING!!!!

after bidding adieu to meredith and matt, our fearless brunchers proceeded to spend several lazy hours on the lawn of the hotel, which overlooks lady bird lake. it was, as i like to say, one of those brochure days.

we alternated between lounging…

(i played with the adorable momiji doll trish gave me. she liked to eat the donut on my ring!)

… and a highly athletic tournament of Rolling Down the Hill!

round 1: henri vs chris!

round 2: henri (returning champion) vs george

round 3: henri (reigning champion) vs jenny (vs the couple at the bottom trying to take engagement pictures)

bonus round: henri vs jenny vs erica! EXTREME SPORTS!

fortunately, only slight injuries were sustained.

honestly, we could’ve stayed there forever, at least, until we got hungry. which we did, as impossible as that sounds (y’all our pants are on a v. tight tasty business schedule!). so eventually we had to leave our grassy utopia, even though most of us really didn’t want to.

and one of us really, REALLY didn’t want to.

and thus, the henri and sarah birthday weekend came to a bittersweet close. it was amazing, it was pantstastic, but like all gold things in “the outsiders,” it could not stay. so good-bye birthday! i’ll miss you! say hi to christmas for me! and i’ll see you NEXT YEAR! i have a feeling that when you come back, you’ll be better than ever.

LOTS OF TASTY BUSINESS AND FRIENDSHIP!

after years of running from place to place so i could see ten bands every night, my priorities suddenly shifted away from the music and way more about the food. obvs most of this has to do with my intrinsic obsession with all things delicious, but a part of it stemmed from my new festival motto: “anything that’s not inconvenient!” (pardon the double negative, it just sounds better that way, you know?). others might call this: “getting old.”

so be warned that this post will contain about 80% fewer bands than last year and about 50% more tasty business. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

henri, erica and i basically established those percentages on tuesday night, when we decided to celebrate our newly acquired fader fort wristbands with a cheap-o happy hour at mccormick & schmick’s! is it just me or are there too many c’s in that name? anyway, we got spinach artichoke dip (sorry, it was gone before i could get flossie out of my purse), fried calamari:

p.s. that calamari is actually a huge scam cos hiding underneath that first layer is just a big pile of cole slaw. WHAT?! that is like, the worst kind of surprise.

and, the pièce de résistance, MINI CORN DOGS!!!!! with chipotle dipping sauce!

i’ll continue, but don’t worry, you will see corn dogs again v. soon.

since that was just happy hour, of course we still had to have dinner. so we walked over to frank, where i decided to take it easy on my tummy and skip the hot dogs. i just got the chili cheese fries instead!

you may be asking yrself, “seriously? no music yet?” but hold yr horses, son! the music festival didn’t even begin until…

WEDNESDAY

i met up with henri and erica downtown and had my heart set on checking out the iamsound showcase, mainly cos i’ve been dying to see jj. but as soon as we got to malverde, i realized there was a big line and, more importantly, THAT I HADN’T EATEN DINNER YET!!

the choice was clear.

yeah, yeah, if we’d gotten in line, we could’ve gotten into the show, but then we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this DELICIOUS QUESO WITH CHORIZO AND FRIED PORK RINDS ON TOP!

y’all, i mean, just look at that cheese. LOOK AT IT (and look away from my face, cos this is a horrible picture, but i’m posting it anyway. such is my devotion to cheesy goodness).

after dinner, we decided to do our other favorite sxsw activity. no, not actually see a band. GO TO MUGSHOTS!

we meet up with the fabulous erin for a drink and a chat. FYA REPRESENT!

you’ll note that i’m wearing my green vest for st. pattie’s day! fortunately for erin, she was holding a green bottle, which i know the irish would totally count.

after sending erin off to the british embassy so she could actually see some bands (what is *that* about?), we decided to walk over to the ritz and check out the u.s. premiere of “suck,” a rock ‘n’ roll vampire movie. and if that description isn’t enough to sell you, here’s the trailer:

i know, right? what’s not to love? ok, well, besides moby playing a believable hardcore singer. although knowing he’s a vegetarian, i did enjoy the scene where people throw raw meat at him. sure, the premise of the movie is silly, but we had a great time watching it! this isn’t the kind of film you’d want to watch on yr own, not cos it’s scary (although that main vampire dude totes gave me the heebie jeebies), but because it’s WAY more amusing with a crowd. plus alice cooper! i can’t look at him and not hear “In fact , it’s pronounced ‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land’” in my head. bonus!

THURSDAY

it will come as no shock to you that my day began in this fashion:

henri and i chillaxed on the chupacabra patio and watched the parade of hipster fashion march by (more on that later). john met up with us for a beer, then we walked towards the east side until we reached the fader fort!

it may not look like much on the outside, but the fader fort is legendary for its free beer and most excellent line-up. i’d actually never ventured inside until this year, and i’m so glad i did, cos i ran into my favorite rock star of all time! i’m talking, of course, about erik!

honestly, i can’t imagine south by without erik, since we’ve been enjoying it together for so long. that’s some friendship legacy, y’all.

i do realize, however, that sxsw isn’t just about pantsers and tasty business, so here, finally, is some music for you!

first, we caught the local natives, a band i’ve been dying to see. and yes, they most definitely rocked! listen while you look at the picture and you can feel like you were there! p.s. beer helps the effect.

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/10-Cubism-Dream.mp3|titles=10 Cubism Dream]

speaking of beer, ta-da!

i’d like to take a moment to thank henri and john for going up to the bar for me and therefore making my two beer tower possible. this bud’s for you, guys!

after the local natives, we headed outside of the tent and ran into basically everyone we know in austin.

the always delightful josh d!

selina! tommy (in the background)! chris (and trish)! erica! sporting a totally sweet soco wristband! swag it up, lady!

i mean, just one look at all of these faces and you can see why i loved going wristbandless. i’d SO pick these guys over a struggling indie band any day.

next up were the morning benders, another band i was really excited to see live. and they were super great!! i wanted to insert my fave song of theirs, “excuses,” here but it’s too big. so just go here and listen to it! you will not be sorry, no sirree.

now that we’d seen a whopping two bands, it was time for a change of pace. and i mean that in the most whirly, dizzying way possible. that’s right, folks, at this year’s sxsw, there were CARNIVAL RIDES!!!! OMG!!!!!

now, see, there’s a line i can get behind (heyooo!). you’ll see more pics later, but jelly nyc totally aced it this year with their carnival-themed day shows. and we got there in time to catch the last ride of the day! which, as you may know, is the most magical feeling in the world. relive it with me now! and if you need to hold my hand, it’s ok.

seriously, best way to watch the sunset EVER.

the jelly nyc party rented out the mexican american cultural center, a space i’d never visited but loved immediately. i mean, look how pretty! like a rainbow!

in fact, the only sight sweeter than that was the dish of mac & cheese i was later served at parkside. allow josh d. to model some for you:

after our late dinner, i went to BED! cos it was not inconvenient!

FRIDAY

in the early afternoon, i had lunch at whole foods with one of my rice superstars, jen hitt! jen has pretty much my fave name ever (it’s fun to exclaim! try it!), and she’s awesome enough to deserve it!

it was wonderful to catch up and hear about jen’s continued fabulousness. yay pantship!

following lunch, i met up with henri so we could walk back over to fader fort. i snapped this picture as we headed east, because nothing says south by more than hipsters walking down sixth street IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. unfortunately, they do not sparkle.

when we reached the fort, i encountered cherie currie! with a chain saw! carving a jean jacket! i mean, of course!

she was in town to promote “the runaways” (which i saw last night and really enjoyed, btw), but in my opinion, all she was really promoting were her AMAZING LINDA HAMILTON LEVEL GUNS!!!!! cherie, i look forward to dressing up as you for halloween, although i’ll be taking the dakota fanning route cos a) i look like her b) there’s no way i could ever achieve anything close to yr arm muscles.

now that we’re back at fader, let’s take a moment to address this year’s sxsw fashion.

SXSW 2010 FASHION REPORT!

well, dear readers, you will be displeased to learn that Major Fug is still dominating the runway. we’re talking mullets, stonewashed denim, skinny jeans, fanny packs and cheap 80s sunglasses, modeled all together quite masterfully by this person:

all i can think about when i look at that picture is, “don’t sit on yr keys!”

to elaborate on Major Fug’s stranglehold on sxsw fashion, i give you exhibit b, the Guy Who Looks Like a Child Molester On Purpose:

as usual, this year’s festival had its share of women inexplicably able to wear the highest heels ever while standing for hours:

lest you think it was all just the same old haute couture, i have two new exciting fads for you!

first, the Yacht Rockers!

these guys were EVERYWHERE this year! as henri put it, “there are so many brokeass people here trying to look rich!” i’ve never seen such a plethora of dudes pretending to be james spader from “pretty in pink” (you guys know he didn’t get the girl, right? just checking).

but by far the WORST new trend i observed was THE DREADED ONE PIECE SHORT/TANK TOP COMBO!!!!!!!

AM I ON CRAZY PILLS?! WHAT IS THIS? i wanted to tear into that sucker like mugatu on a cappuccino high. WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS GARMENT SERVE? other than to force you to complete disrobe when you use the bathroom, which at south by means a port-a-potty, which means YOU HAVE TO BE ALMOST NAKED INSIDE A PORT-A-POTTY? gah my skin burns with germ apparitions just thinking about it!

if i was a fug girl, i would create a clever conversation between these two involving a tank pantaloon one-piece and orange skin. but i’m not, so let’s simply cleanse our eyeballs with my favorite piece of fashion from the whole festival. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you:

THE PANTS SHIRT!!!!!!!

does anyone else hear angels singing while tearing up tank/short one-pieces?

speaking of heavenly music, next up is the very best, which is not just a clever name! they put on the funnest show i experienced this year, complete with two kickass dancers and TONS of energy. listen below to get an idea of why they’re just so infectiously awesome!

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/01-Kamphopo.mp3|titles=01 Kamphopo]

the guy in the hoodie was the cutest hype man in the world. he kept yelling, “AUSTIN MAKE SOME NOISE!!!” and then trish and henri would do this:

y’all, even the professionally apathetic, too cool for school hipsters were *dancing*. that should tell you what an absolute blast this show was.

now that we were filled with boisterous energy and smiling our faces off, we did the only thing we could do under the circumstances: MORE CARNIVAL RIDES! so we headed back to jelly nyc…

and got some of this action!

no, i’m not talking about the gravitron (although henri did ride it, twice! i prefer to maximize my chances of keeping food IN my stomach). i’m talking about FUNNEL CAKE Y’ALL!!!!!

about five minutes later, that plate was empty and i was covered with powdered sugar. oh yeah and HAPPINESS.

henri’s carnival food of choice? a big ole corndog!

i just realized there were no clowns at this carnival, and i want to take a second and thank jelly nyc for mercifully sparing us all.

anyway, back to the rides! hi chris and trish!

bon voyage, erica and henri!

i think i made the same awesome face erica’s making, except it wasn’t on a ride. it was when i got my funnel cake.

next up, the swings! no one was on them, and we felt kinda bad for the carnie guy, so we all got on. as you can see by our faces, it was a good decision! yay happy sxsw pants!

this picture of caitlin and james totally reminds me of the end of “grease.”

too bad their swing didn’t fly up up up into the sky! although on a carnival ride, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

and in case you want to ride this INSANELY CRAY CRAY ride from the comfort of yr desk chair, here you go!

after riding ourselves silly, we caught a bit of the glass candy set (not bad, but not that exciting).

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/ROLLING-DOWN-THE-HILLS.mp3|titles=ROLLING DOWN THE HILLS]

the funny thing is that the band preceding glass candy was sleigh bells, and before they went on, i was like, “yay!! sleigh bells! i’ve been dying to see them!” and then this hyper girl in a mesh tank top got on stage and started yelling into the mike and i was like, “wait! where’s the dude from the shins?” ha ha, um, that would be BROKEN bells, sarah. not sleigh bells. but seriously, aren’t there enough words to go around for band names?! i don’t see anyone using PANTS in their name, and that word is MUCH better than bells!

anyway! erica, henri and i headed to dinner (no pictures, sorry!) and then i… guess what… WENT TO BED!!! cos i had no wristband to stop me!

SATURDAY

on the final day of sxsw, henri and i STAYED INSIDE. ALL DAY. you know why? because it was freezing! and you know how posh d. feels about her pants getting cold!!! it’s a sin, you guys. seriously.

and, like my motto says, i’m old! er, i mean, it was not inconvenient to stay inside. right.

we did finally venture out around 10:30 to console trish, chris, jeni and erica, who had all stood in the clustercuss known as the perez hilton party line and froze their pants off and still didn’t get in. and y’all know that’s not what fxtb is about!! fxtb is about being warm and having easy access to tasty beverages and friends! and what’s the best place for that? the highball, of course!

although there was plenty of perez bashing (waiter: “what can i get you?” chris: “perez hilton’s head on a plate?”), it was soon conquered by all of the pantsing and love in the air. awww!

just look at this sweetness brought to you by jeni and mick!

and you know it’s a good time when the finger photo bandit makes an appearance (nice one, trish!).

we concluded the festival with a ceremonial burning of the wristbands!

ok, actually, we didn’t really burn them, cos that would’ve smelled super bad, but the symbolism, people! the symbolism!

and that, pants world, was my sxsw (fxtb) of 2010! sure, it was different, but honestly, i had a blast, and if this is what getting old is like, BRING IT ON (preferably with queso on top).

even though the music portion (aka MY FAVE) won’t begin until wednesday, austin is already teeming with filmmakers and bloggers and hipsters and People Who Can’t Drive So Good. i’m getting TOTES EXCITED!! it’s like, the v. air is full of red bull, minus that gross sweet tart smell.

i actually kicked off my sxsw on thursday night at the austin film society’s texas film hall of fame party. you may recall that last year, i attended this same event and had the time of my LIFE listening to larry hagman and freaking out over brendan fraser’s crazyface and wondering when luke wilson got elevated to Bloat Watch. and, most importantly, HANGING OUT WITH BUDDY GARRITY what WHAT!

well, let’s just say, this year’s party was LAME in comparison. sure, i had a great time hanging out with henri, tim and karrie, esp. cos karrie let me have some of the random prizes she won from the AFS scratch-off cards. in fact, my favorite thing about the entire night was… this super sweet pillow:

that’s right, y’all, THAT PILLOW IS MINE!!!!!! be jealous! and yes, those little oranges on the tree *are* super fun to play with. karrie was like, “you actually want this?” and i replied, “this pillow is the missing piece i need to complete my master plan of decorating my apartment like an unhinged grandma (minus the cats) so YES PLEASE!”

but yeah, besides my pillow, the night was a major disappointment. sure, the typical austin celebs were there, like linklater, rodriguez and tarantino (i know quentin doesn’t live here but it does seem like he’s at the alamo all of the time, hence my blasé-ness), and the only out of towner that got me excited was catherine o’hara, who was there to accept an award for “waiting for guffman” (it was filmed in lockhart). thankfully, she was as great as i expected:

i do wish she’d sported her guffman bangs, though. that alone would’ve made my night 100 times more awesome.

the film portion of sxsw officially began on friday night with the premiere of “kickass,” aka the movie I HAVE BEEN DYING TO SEE. apparently, the organizers of the screening don’t read this blog (WHAT) and i didn’t get in. NOT COOL, lionsgate, not cool. in fact, the movie was so popular, none of the pass holders got in, and even some of the badge holders didn’t make it! fortunately, i got into the next best thing: margaritas and queso!! you don’t need a fancy badge for tasty business!

later in the evening, henri and i made up for our (not so) kickass experience by getting into a screening of “leaves of grass,” which features edward norton and… wait for it… KERI RUSSELL OMGG!!!!

y’all, this movie is absolutely GREAT. it’s funny, it’s surprisingly heartbreaking, and it literally punched me in the gut a few times. plus did i mention that FELICITY IS IN IT? apparently it’s gonna have a limited release, but i know for sure it’ll be playing in austin, so if you live here, go see it!! i am not playing around here! if you could see me right now, you would know that i have my V. Serious Face on.

edward norton and the writer/director, tim blake nelson (you may remember him from “o brother where art thou”) were actually there and participated in a brief Q&A after the screening. first of all, edward norton is pretty handsome in person. second, tim blake nelson is the sweetest guy ever!!! i loved his character in the movie, but i think i adore him even more in real life, and when does THAT happen? i mean, besides with keri russell, who was inexplicably absent. hello, keri, how are we supposed to be BFFs if you never come visit me?! friendship is a two way street!.

i stuck around at the alamo south lamar for the fantastic fest midnight screening of “outcast,” this scottish movie about modern day witches, monsters and how much low-income housing sucks. the lead actress, kate dickie, was fantastic and totally gave me the heebie jeebies, but in general i thought the movie was kind of slow and vague. or maybe it simply felt like that in contrast to the way tim and henri started the movie: with a rousing game of waterfalls! featuring the loser penalty of “flames under yr booty”! well… you’ll see what i mean (note: the fire does actually occur, around the 2:20 mark):

just in case you were worried, no one’s pants were harmed in the making of that video. and henri is still an alamo employee!

saturday night, “the people vs. george lucas” documentary sponsored a sci-fi dance party at the highball! just like the last one, this shindig featured crazytown lights and music by henri’s DJ friend ariel, who managed to spin while wearing a storm trooper outfit (that’s mad skills!).

seriously, the lights at this party were UNSANE:

and, more importantly, so was the dancing!!!! henri gave out light sabers, and i can honestly say i’ve never seen people move so well while brandishing light-up swords. plus the local chapter of Guys Who Own Storm Trooper Costumes (no, it’s a real thing! but i think their actual name is something more clever-sounding… maybe) was there, and wow, those guys know how to freak on girls even while wearing full body armor! and did i mention there were two princess leia dancers dancers on the stage? DAAAAAANG!

i bet darth vader would’ve been seriously pissed if he had walked through the door. although i suppose it could be argued that there was actually a lot of intergalactic domination taking place on the dance floor (not that i would talk back to darth vader cos heeeee’ll getcha!).

my favorite part of the night occurred when ariel threw on the imperial death march and the inner dorkdom of all of the sxsw festival-goers really shone through:

i will definitely miss my fellow nerds as the week goes on and the deluge of hipsters onto sixth street begins. which reminds me, i gotta figure out what this year’s counting game will be. bandanas? 8os sunglasses? mullets? what’s new in hipster apparel these days? anyone?

but not even the impending threat of hipster crowds will dampen my excitement, cos OMG IT’S HAPPENING YOU GUYS!!! SXSW IS HAPPENING!!! and these pants are going wristbandless this year, which i’m pretty sure is only gonna increase my levels of musical serendipity (and free cocktails, obvs!). stay tuned…

ok, well, besides dance parties.

last friday, my friend tatiana invited henri and me over to a MURDER MYSTERY PARTY!! I KNOW, RIGHT?!! i’d always wanted to go to one, but the closest i ever got was the time that my parents and i were in las vegas right before christmas and all of the real shows were closed for a break so we went to this murder mystery dinner theater in a strip mall instead and well, yeah. let’s just say it was no cirque de soleil.

recently, my hankering for a little whodunit action went up to 11 after i saw “the office” murder mystery episode:

i mean, who doesn’t love speaking in ridiculously fake accents and emanating waves of intrigue?

since tatiana is a Master Party Planner Pants, she emailed us our character profiles in advance, along with the dress code (80s! holla!) and the warning that we would NOT be admitted into her home unless we were totally in character.

obvs, this was not a problem for henri and me. meet brooke fields and spruce steen!

check out our highly complex profiles:

Spruce is a talented rock n’ roll star, whose albums are skyrocketing off the charts. He sings about the common man and against the rich and greedy, yet he has a curious power over all. Spruce is Adam’s neighbor and a close friend of Noah Good. He and Brooke Fields have lived together for several years.

Brooke was raised in a show biz family and therefore her burning ambition is to follow in the footsteps of her family’s success. However, she is an exciting and adventurous rebel, who loves to shock people with her wickedly flagrant lifestyle. There is not a conventional bone in her body and she’s proud of it! She lives with Spruce Steen and, due to her great sense of humor, they have a lot of fun!

yeah we do! i mean, just look at those amazing outfits!

as we walked in, we met reporter whitney wordup and talk show host babra waters (seriously, it can’t be a good murder mystery party without ridiculously awesome names).

and here’s the fabulous hostess of the party, high profile socialite shirley good!

did i mention that the VICE PRESIDENT (harry lord… heh) was there?!!

as we introduced ourselves to everyone, i realized that most of the attendees were complete strangers to me. and while at most parties, it’s weird when you don’t know people, at a murder mystery party, it’s AWESOME. first of all, i didn’t know anyone’s real names, just their character names. second, i had no idea what they were like in real life, so it was impossible to tell when they were acting and then they weren’t.

case in point: prissy everest, international tennis star!

note the white powder under prissy’s nose. when i first met her, i was like, ha ha, that’s an awesome detail to her costume. and then she said, “heyyyy, let’s go to the bathroom together!” and i thought, “heh, yeah, totally! woo-hoo we’re acting!” and then we went into the bathroom and she pulled out a vial of white powder and i was like “oh man, girlfriend went all out… wait a minute. IS THAT REAL?” and y’all I HAD NO IDEA. until she looked at me and said, “you know this is just flour, right?” HA HA OF COURSE. obviously. ok! whew.

another example: noah good, mischievous playboy!

within ten minutes of our arrival, noah was hitting on me like a contestant on “the pick-up artist.” at first i was weirded out, but then i thought, “oh, he’s totally just playing his character, who is a total slimeball, so this makes sense.” so then i went along with it, until i remembered that scene from the office where andy asks erin out, and she thinks it’s part of the game, but he’s being super serious, and then i was like… umm?

by the end, though, i was sure he was just acting. well, pretty sure.

the official game play began with all of us reading introductions (given to us by tatiana, i mean, shirley). mine was particularly mortifying:

OMG, of course I’ll drink to a fun and exciting evening… especially if it gets wild and crazy! I’m Brooke Fields, daughter of the famous actor, W.P. Fields and awesome girlfriend of the fabulous Spruce Steen. Someday, I’d like to act out all of my fantasies, but my talents haven’t quite been discovered yet. I’m working on my exposure, every chance I get. Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll give you a preview tonight!

so, basically, i was the miss scarlet of this party. except WAY less classy.

after a good bit of mingling, shirley turned the awesome up another notch by passing out individualized clues and directions to everyone. this is when things got JUICY, cos suddenly everyone had dark motives and secrets, and there hadn’t even been a murder yet!

of course, since i was playing the party skank, my clues were not so much sinister as they were hoebaggy. for example:

To whomever you please, relate how you and a friend took your shirts off and danced around topless at Spruce’s last concert.

(yeah, noah good really loved that one)

or, my personal favorite:

Tell Bob Briese (football player) that you really get turned on by the football players’ tight butts in their uniforms.

yeah, so while everyone else gets glimpses of skeletons in the closet, i get How To Be Trashy, 101. in spite of my misgivings (and the fact that, remember, no one knew me this party, so this was QUITE the first impression) as a dr. professional party pants, i had no choice but to follow the instructions. with my signature enthusiasm, obvs.

suddenly, shirley’s husband adam burst through the door and delivered this SHOCKING ANNOUNCEMENT: ROBIN COURT WAS MURDERED!!

HOLY AGATHA CHRISTIE!

it kind of made sense, given that every character seemed to have some grudge against robin, myself included (and for once, it had nothing to do with taking my top off. he apparently cheated my parents out of money). of course, since everyone hated him, EVERYONE WAS A SUSPECT! DUM DUM DUUUUUM!!

also, i love the part in the script where adam explains why it would just be easier to solve this murder ourselves. obvs!

we were then given more clues and instructions. mine included vital information such as:

You love being outrageous and partying as well.

Maybe all us groovy chicks here should lighten up these macho dudes with a little holiday celebration dance.

and, the most mysterious clue i received all night:

You are stoked to play your favorite game with Spruce tonight.

UM SAY WHAT?!!! what kind of murder mystery is this?!!

it should be pretty clear to you by this point that i did NOT commit the murder. hello, i was WAY too busy thinking about skanky business! plus, i was officially cleared when shirley somehow managed to obtain police evidence of finger prints on the scene, which narrowed down the list of suspects:

after that, things got a leeeetle cray cray.

looks like noah went to the bathroom with prissy!

it was only a matter of time before we all cracked and offered up our best explanations of innocence. there were some pretty convincing performances, but i think it’s safe to say that spruce pretty much ROCKED IT:

just when i thought the party would implode from the suspense, the murderer confessed!! OMG IT WAS SHIRLEY GOOD!

I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED! probably cos i was too busy telling people all about how i like to take my top off.

the best part about solving a murder at a party? there’s no police involved! so, after you identify the killer, you can just drink more champers and play rock band! which is exactly what we did.

i never did figure out that game that spruce and i were supposed to play, though…

well, this weekend i took my mom and dad to the austin celtic festival, which i never knew existed until, like, a week ago. turns out it’s super cute! sure, there’s a renfest quality to it, but the chain mail and ill-fitting-corset levels are, you will be relieved to know, pretty low. plus, i discovered that the celtic festival definitely has a few tricks up its emerald sleeve, which i shall now detail for you!

first of all, it was a gorgeous day! and i was with the two people who actually taught me *how* to enjoy festivals, the original masters, dad and mom:

why yes that IS a plate of butterfly potatoes. like i said, mom and dad are dr. professionals.

i also have to give major pants to MSWR, who told me about the festival in the first place AND gave me free tix! girlfriend’s got the hook-up!!!

ok, so when you first walk into the festival, it feels pretty run-of-the-mill. you’ve got yr strange performance art people, although i will take this tree over a Black Fairy or Elf Queen any day:

(that guy was pretty cool, actually. although i couldn’t tell if the kids were excited or terrified to see a walking, talking tree. i mean, if they’ve read “the giving tree,” they should be running away as quickly as possible cos EEEEEE).

also, like any other festival, there are tons of booths with crazytown merch specifically targeted towards the celtic festival demographic (i’m not sure what that is, btw, but based on the products, it definitely includes anyone into LOTR, new age-ism, silver jewelry, plaid and things with Celtic typeface words written on them).

OH celtic humor, you make me cringe every time.

speaking of cringe, YEEEAAAAIIEEEEEUUGHHH:

that doll’s contorted face haunts my dreams. like, what kind of grandmother would hate their grandchild enough to buy them this doll?!

this item was my fave:

ok, but seriously? this isn’t exactly an impulse buy… is it? who would buy that? and when can i come over to their house to see the other crazy shizz in their collection? and then can we invite over edward cullen? awesome.

sure, the merch was a little eccentric, but when it came to food, this festival was like any other, and i mean that in a good way cos FUNNEL CAKE!!!!!!

it’s a good thing that people in ancient celtic times ate funnel cake, otherwise everyone at the festival would’ve been pissed when faced with haggis and dry soda bread.

speaking of soda bread, my dad bought some! so of course i had to take a picture. and the best part is that i didn’t even ask him to pose this way. HE DID IT ON HIS OWN.

papa posh i have trained you well.

the celtic festival also earned high marks in the doggies category:

I LOVE DOGS IN COSTUME!!! of course i do!!! my favorite was this guy, with his jaunty little hat!

if only you could train dogs to speak with an accent. sigh.

like its brethren, the celtic festival offered many opportunities for people to engage in really dorky activities together. lest you think i’m mocking with my monkey pants, rest assured that i HEART dorky group activities. like, look at these people learning a celtic dance! they look really awkward, but they don’t care!! plus it’s ok to dance like a super white person cos it’s the CELTIC festival!!!

speaking of activities, forget about throwing rings around bottles or bean bags into a big clown mouth (aiieee), the celtic festival does NOT mess around when it comes to games. these guys mean Serious Business. check out this sport, known as the caber toss:

yeah, that’s right. these guys are trying to throw a freaking telephone pole and flip it IN THE AIR. WHAT!!!!!! that is RIDICULOUS!!! i love how it’s referred to as a “toss,” like, “oh hey guys, yeah, lemme just toss this massive wooden pole over here and then i’ll meet you at the pub for some guinness.”

all of these dudes were incredibly buff, like almost comically so (“hey, do you know where the weight room is?”), but only a few of them managed to flip the pole over:

y’all my arms hurt just from *watching* that video. and what about the splinters?!!!!

another crowd pleaser was SHEEP HERDING!! no seriously. there was sheep herding. and yes, seriously, it drew a crowd.

i’ll admit, that dog is a total genius pants. although if he was REALLY smart, he’d figure out how to talk in an irish accent. i’m just saying.

in addition to these unique attractions, the celtic festival had some other mega bonus factors. such as…

MINI PONIES!!!!!!!!

OMG MINI PONIES!!!!!!!! people were just walking them around like dogs! like, oh yeah, here’s my pony that’s totally tiny and adorable and like, A REAL MY LITTLE PONY, but it’s no big deal.

what’s awesome is that me and this 7-year-old girl next to me both asked our parents for a mini pony at the same time. kindred spirits!!

another bonus* (*bonus in a kind of awesome, kind of ironic sense) factor? KILTS!!! SO MANY KILTS!! KILT-EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!!

y’all i had no IDEA that so many people in austin own kilts. it’s kind of like finding out that soylent green is made of people only a little less creepy.

this guy was totally my fave. i call him Santa Kilt!

apparently, kilts are pretty booming business, and they come in different styles! and i don’t mean colors of plaid. i mean… have you heard of the UTILIKILT?

for the practical, outdoorsy kiltwearer, who needs that fresh air down there but also pockets for holding things! cos these dudes ain’t carryin’ no manpurse!

there’s also “his & hers” kilt outfits, which made me squee every time.

it’s weird how i can abhor the utilikit but spazz out about couples wearing matching plaid. but i mean LOOK HOW CUTE THEY ARE:

wait, sir, you’ve got a sign on yr back… wait… um, what’s that say?

um. wow. so, you know how i said you were cute before? I WAS WRONG. cuteness REMOVED.

that’s ok, though, cos there was more than enough cuteness to go around at the celtic festival, thanks to bonus factor #3, LITTLE PANTSERS!!!

esp. little pantsers that are DRESSED UP!!! and pretending to fight in an epic celtic battle! check out my favorite little soldier, thor (ok, NOT THOR) who appears at the 33 second mark:

ok, i know i’ve already said that, like, ten different things were my favorite parts of the festival, but guys this time i really mean it when i say that my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE thing about the celtic festival was: kids… dancing like crazypants.

there were lots of celtic bands, obvs, and while i actually did enjoy much of the music, there is no WAY i enjoyed it as much as these little ladies:

I KNOW, RIGHT?! all you need is a few more toddlers to make it a full-on kiddie mosh pit. and that girl in the plaid skirt (kilt)?! WOW. little miss jig is a non-stop celtic party machine!!!! i’d love to see her bust a move at an alamo sing-along.

i gotta give plaid skirt girl mad pants for energy, but the dancer who really took the cake at the celtic festival was a boy i like to call napoleon elliot (get it? no? ok). check out this kid’s sweet moves:

the fact that he got on top of a speaker, by himself, to broadcast his moves to a larger audience is just… so awesome.

i know you want more of his celtic grooves so WISH GRANTED:

napoleon elliot KEEP ON BEIN’ YOU! i hope you go to the fame school and then get cast in step up 4and ACHIEVE YR DANCING DREAMS!

so yeah, the celtic festival? pretty awesome. even though i didn’t get to take home a mini pony or a dog dressed in plaid, i did come away with memories to last me for quite a while, not to mention SWEET NEW DANCE MOVES that you will be seeing at a dance party near you v. v. soon. y’all get ready to JIG!

LINKS

rachel mcadams? in the next spider-man movie? as a villain? I VOTE YES.

are you a bella swan (yikes) or a katniss (HOLLA!)? take the FYA quiz and find out!

i know i’ve posted this site before, but y’all have GOT to add people of wal-mart to yr google reader. so painful and yet… so awesome.