Emma’s Fantabulous Blog

This is a glorified milk crate, turned into a fancy-er looking stool. Personally I think just a plain milk crate would look cooler. If milk crates are now cool to use as furniture, I was totally was on top of that trend 5 years ago. I’m fascinated, but still think its totally pretentious.

You wanna see something that’s equally pretentious? The company (that designed this chair)’s website. Websites that are more form than function really grind my gears. So you’re a company make something really cool, and I – a consumer- want to find out more about you and your products, here is the worst idea ever: make a colorful website in Flash that is pain in the ass to use and provides no real information on your products.

Check out their annoying site here.

Azis I Ustata – Tochno Sega

Is it strange that the only thing in this video that bothers me is the poor drugged up baby leopard in the back of the limo?

By the way, Azis is a Bulgarian pop superstar who is flamboyant with his “gender expressions”, so don’t watch the video if the idea of a big burly man in drag offends you.

1. In honor of Earth Day: What are you doing to save the Earth?
2. What is something you wish you understood better?
3. What’s the wall paper on your computer?
4. What color are your actual walls?
5. What does your wallet look like?
6. What does your wallet have in it?
7. Do you like wrapping gifts?
8. What is a strange gift to give someone you’ve never met?
9. What’s a good gift to give someone you’ve never met?
10. Do you own anything (not drugs or drug paraphernalia, which I know none of you have anyways…) from the black market?

I’ve always been a thug from the streets, ready to throw down… as is evident in this photo of a me as a 1st grader.

To be honest, it was more likely that I was looking at some rat-tailed hottie wearing neon bike shorts.

Oh well. At least I look fierce.

Upon recommendation from one of my blog visitors I’ve been scouring local stores for Dry Soda. Of course Central Market came through for me.

I was a little hesitant with their wonky flavors: Kumquat, Lavender, Lemongrass and Rhubarb. So I grab a bottle of the Lemongrass, figuring “How different can it be from a Sprite?” After a few swigs, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s very crisp, with a good amount of fizz, and a very subtle flavor. It’s way less sweet than your average carbonated beverage, which is a nice departure from the norm. I think adding more sweetness would probably just make the unusual flavors taste… well… not as awesome.

I went back and bought a couple bottles of each flavor, and so far I’ve really enjoyed the Lemongrass. However, my favorite so far is the Rhubarb. The bubbles seem to add tartness to the sweet part of the rhubarb. Total yumminess!
So far they’re only sold at WA & CA restaurants and stores, but luckily you can buy 12 packs online at their website; single flavors or multi-packs. Online a 12 pack will run you $25, however Central Market was having a sale on them for $1.25 a bottle.

Also, if you’re ever in Seattle, Dry Soda has a tasting room in Pioneer Square that’s open to the public. Tell them what you’re making for dinner, and they’ll help you pick out a soda flavor to compliment your cooking.

Check out the soda & buy some here. 

Happy swilling!

Yesterday Devon and I took our iguana-baby to her first photo shoot where she posed in the nude. The photographer was Stephanie Hamilton and she specializes in pet portaits, but since she’s working on a special project, we got the pics in exchange for our time. She’s working on a Handicapped Pets calender for the Humane Society, which she said Fifi will be in, which comes out in September. She’s also working on a book about different handicapped pets, and wants to include Fifi in that whenever that project comes to fruition.

So without further ado, here’s some of the best shots from yesterday.

Big smiles! (Although she was really just in the middle of smacking her mouth, hehe.)

This is Fifi’s “Green Steel”. (A nod to the Zoolander)

Look at that mug!

I posted the larger versions of these in my personal “Fifi” gallery, if you want them. She’s such a good model.

Is this too-too?

I bought these Steve Madden shoes today. Hot, right?

The problem is: I wandered across a dress by BCBG Max Azria.

I’m completely in love with it. The dress fits me like a fricking glove! (I’ve discovered that A-lines are my best friend.) The color perfectly matches the brown in the shoes. (Even if the color doesn’t match in the pictures.) The length is conservative enough to match the spike heels. It’s a formal enough dress to wear to my cousin’s wedding this August. And the dress is incredibly unique regarding the fancy sewing & pattern & stitching & whatnot. It’s extremely well made. You can tell that the sewing and seams are well done, and that the dress in a whole is very well made.

I have 2 concerns:

1. The dress is in the upper part of my budget. Its the sort of dress that I could wear to multiple formal occasions, and it’s extremely well made, but I’m not sure if one dress is worth the cost.
2. Does it match the shoes? (Please bear in mind that I have a funky sort of taste, and can totally “work” and outfit. )

Any feedback?

Fifi is having her first official photo shoot tomorrow.

I came across a woman who is photographing handicapped pets for a book that she’s creating. I e-mailed her and was like “Yo, I got a 3 legged lizard. You cool?”. And she was like “Word.” Well… Not exactly, but still.

We’re taking Fifi to meet the photographer tomorrow afternoon. I’m still not exactly clear on her book project, but I figure that the worst that can happen is that the lady is wonkers on top of being a bad photographer and we waste an hour or so. However the best case would have the lady being a handicapped pet owner herself and being really into her project which will actually come to fruition, and Fifi will be able to educate people about the trials and tribulations and responsibilities of owning an iguana.

I think it’s a really great idea. I’ve actually thought about doing the same kind of thing…. Having great photos of all sorts of animals and/or pets that overcame all sorts of obstacles and live normal-happy lives and then having a page or two telling their stories. So I’ll chat further with her tomorrow…. We’ll see if she can make Fifi pose. Although I really think that the best photos that I’ve taken of the Fif-ster have been random or lucky. Like this one especially….

I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll let you know how Fifi’s photo shoot goes.

So its a little past 4am on Saturday morning and I’m totally battling some insomnia. I really hate bogus-ness. I’m the girl who slept for almost 36 hours with only minor interruptions when I was 19! I had sleeping skills of epic proportions. Now it seems like I’m always either exhausted or wide awake. Meh. I’m getting old or something. Am I loosing my sleeping edge?  Devon started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow but I don’t feel tired yet. I guess I’ll fill the time by blogging.

On a positive note, Devon and I just threw an awesome Dinner & a Movie Night #3. We watched a French movie called Wasabi, with Jean Reno. We were lazy and watched the dubbed version instead of subtitles. It’s a really cool movie.

An over-zealous French cop returns to Japan after finding out that his long lost love died and named him in her will. Turns out that he’s the dad of her 17 year old kid, and he’s named guardian of her until she turns 18 in 2 days. Craziness ensues when he finds out that his ex-girlfriend was deep undercover in the Yakuza (Japanese mafia).

For dinner, I ended up ordering a big sushi tray from Central Market when I realised that we were missing our sushi-making implements. (Central makes a mean sushi tray, BTW) I made a tofu, noodle & veggie stir-fry and Devon grilled up some Chicken Teriyaki – using my dad’s recipe. We, of course, had sake. Both filtered and unfiltered. For snacks I served edamame, and random weird Japanese snacks (seaweed wrapped rice crackers, roasted green peas and sesame cookies) that i found in the Asian food section.

For dessert I payed homage to Jean Reno’s frenchness by making profiteroles. The pastry wasn’t from scratch, but I hollowed whipped cream out of pre-made frozen ones and refilled them with lavender ice cream and then drizzled some hot fudge sauce on top. We also had Mochi Ice Cream.

But yeah. Movie night #3 was a success. Now we need to start brainstorming ideas for #4.  A super cheesy movie & Fondue? An old western & chili and cornbread? Bollywood & Indian? We’ll see.

No, not that kind. Peeps, as in the delicious technicolored marshmallow ducks and rabbits that are sold around Easter.

Easter has passed, but the Washington Post has a slide show of some creative dioramas featuring Peeps. The inspirations come from movies, tv shows and recent events. I think my favorite might be #20: “Dateline NBC: To Catch a Peep-a-tor”.

Check them all out here, at WashingtonPost.com.