Stephanie Gayle Fiction first, everything else later.

State of Massachusetts
state bird: chickadee
state flower: Mayflower
state GDP:whining, 2.5 tons

What do we talk about when we talk about anything? The weather. And how much we hate it. Don't get me wrong. We Massholes are a hardy lot. Throw blizzards at us. No problem. The occasional hurricane? Okay. We've even survived the Molasses Flood. But overcast skies and constant drizzle/rain? No. That we cannot bear.

We don't ask for much. A couple of months of sunshine to make the other 9 months of winter bearable. But we've lost June! And now it's July and it's raining, again. Overcast, again. It is too much.

On the anniversary of our nation's birth is it too much to ask that we, one of the original 13 colonies, get some joy up in this holiday weekend? Soggy fireworks are no good and barbecues are less fun during thunderstorms.
All we are saying is give us some damn sunshine. Stat.

Posted by Stephanie at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In today's American culture shoes have been used all too often as some sort of magic talismen for women. Got man troubles? Buy some sexy heels! Lost your job? Buy some kick ass riding boots! Just been diagnosed with a disorder that requires six months of strict bed rest? Buy some feathered mules! Yes!

I don't buy the whole fetishization of shoes. This may be because I have misshaped feet that require size 11 shoes or because I'm above such trivial nonsense. Ahem. However today I saw this and my heart did indeed go pitter pat.

How awesome is this?! A shoe wheel! It's the coolest storage solution for shoes I have ever seen. Want. Never mind that mine will not be filled with pastel pumps but instead dirty-toed size 11 sneakers. Want.

I won't have to use the bottom shelf of my bookshelf to stack all my shoes inside. Instead I can put them in the wheel. It conjures up images of game shows AND hamsters.

You can purchase it here if you too are overwhelmed with shoe wheel desire.

P.S. Just read that you have to assemble the shoe wheel yourself and tat it is not easy. Damn it! This latest blow makes me want to...eat chocolate. (Did you really think I was going to say 'buy shoes'?"

Posted by Stephanie at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I added fresh blueberries to my blueberry yogurt.
That's what I call kicking it up a notch.

Posted by Stephanie at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I've begun looking for a new apartment (wah) I've seen some pretty interesting ads. There's the one with the ever-changing subject lines that ends with "must be okay with kink." Uh huh. That place isn't far (geographically) from where I live. And then there are the ones with about 36 bullet points highlighting attributes NOT desired in a future roommate and ending with a story about how someone they knew once got a paroled murderer as a roommate using Craigslist (unwittingly). Yikes. Then there are the ones from older men (some with headshots) offering to show younger, female roommates the city's sights, if they are new to Boston. Run, ladies. But I think I found my favorite today. It offered house sharing privelges rent free in exchange for house sitting and some errands. The proposed roommate? A thirty-something nudist female who insists potential roommates be comfortable with a "clothing free environment." She inists on no emails but instant messaging instead. At night. Uh huh.

Who needs the personals ads with listings like these?

Posted by Stephanie at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)