And I know that it's been sang before but you're my human holiday.

I've been on a bit of a Spring cleaning bend this week each day after work. The other night, the little Peester (Pee Wee, Lil' Peesy) and I started dusting off Jesse's toys for safekeeping in storage until we get a glass cabinet.

Pee Wee was being a super helper. Occasionally moving around the bubble wrap to get it out of my way. Checking the sturdiness of the box by jumping around it on all sides. Surveying the swept up piles of dust for any cat toys I may have accidentally swatted in there. You know, a good partner. Just like he's proven to be in the past.

Hard at work:

It seems when Jesse is out of town Pee Wee really tries to "help out." He follows me around, snuggles me in bed, and sits next to me when I do the dishes or cook food (strangely enough, this is also where I feed him, so there may be a hidden agenda in attending to me at these times). He's a good pet.

Of course, sometimes he gets really lazy too. In the midst of all the cleaning, Pee Wee decided to "take a break." And by "take a break" I mean leave the rest of it to me and sit down and watch the classic 80s movie Just One of the Guys I had just queued up on Netflix. I was irate!

But then it was really funny because he was literally watching the movie. And, um, he's an adorable cat:

After a few hours, the cleaning was done. At least in this part of the apartment (see below). Tonight I tackle our room, do some yoga, and take care of the laundry. Because tomorrow? Jesse returns! Plus, an OkGo show! Yes!

We're holding hands back in the street.

My friends rule! Above we just finished seeing Kick Ass and decided to get Benny's Burritos in the East Village. L-R: Jaime, Andrew, Erica, Jim, Steve, and Amber. I was at head of table.

Friday:

• Dancing around in my living room to the Avett Brothers while I cleaned and waited for the book club members to arrive
• 
  
  WAR & PARTY - our final book club meeting regarding War & Peace! It was hiliarious. More to come, along with video (maybe)

Saturday:

• 
  
  Brunch with Jim & Amber
• 
  
  Kick-Ass with the crew above - entertaining film though I watched with a certain incredulousness. Also, way to go Nicolas Cage for finally "bringing it" to a recent film.
• 
  
  Benny's Burritos!
• 
  
  Law & Order Sexy Crimes - err, I mean SVU - at the homestead and then some SNL. Our efforts in obtaining ice cream cake for the occasion sadly failed.

Sunday:

• 
  
  Amber, Erica, and I woke up and decided it was just the right time to watch Antichrist
• 
  
  We quickly discovered it is NEVER the right time to watch that movie, and save your mind and your eyes the horror of taking in such disgusting dreck
• 
  
  Dinner with Gaby, Jim, and Erica
• 
  
  Dragonette at Brooklyn Bowl with Gaby, Erica, Rob, Kylie Minogue, Dana, etc. Wait, what?! Yes - Kylie Minogue was bowling in Brooklyn on a Sunday night. I didn't see her, but all I can picture is her bowling in a sequined minidress and platform heels
• 
  
  Dragonette killing it, as they do with every live show!
• 
  
  After the show, we were milling about with friends talking (mainly about Kylie Minogue) when a guy interrupted us and extended his hand. I started shaking it in confusion as he said, "You were great up there! Great show!" and I said, "Oh, that wasn't me...." and he apologized and said it was "the hair." Yes, we both have short hair, but Martina, the lead singer of Dragonette is currently sporting a bowl cut, so I was a little self-conscious after that dude's comment! (Here's a picture of her from last night!) The guy was a little on the dense side, since I was wearing a completely different outfit, had a purse, jacket, UMBRELLA, and...not a bowl cut. In fact, this is what I looked like last night. And though Martina is badass and gorgeous and can actually pull off that style, I thought the moment was hilarious.

I'm excited for this week because it culminates in the reunion of me and Jesse! YAY!

How was your weekend?

So I cut the ties and jumped the track.

I did a lot of recuperating and movie-watching this weekend!

• I finally finished The Wire. I'd agree with all those critics who say it's one of the best television shows of all time. It's not dribble that numbs the mind; you have to pay attention, you have to keep up. It has some of the greatest characters and heartbreakingly real storylines. All seasons were mesmerizing, but personally I loved the last season. Probably because they explored the newspaper business (ethics, dwindling industry, crime coverage, etc.) by taking you into the Baltimore Sun's newsroom.
• Amber and I tried doing the "Bad Romance" dance for Jaime and Erica. It didn't go too well and we kept wishing Kelly was there to "bring it," as they say. One thing from the video we've got down? No pants.
• I made burgers. Erica made fries. Jaime made a salad. And Amber concocted drinks. Heavenly Saturday night meal. The four of us sat down at the dinner table and ate, laughed, and had some real interesting discussions regarding our past and how we each grew up. Then we stuffed our faces with some lovely treats Amber provided from Magnolia: banana cupcakes, key lime pie, red velvet mousse pie. I am salivating again just remembering how scrumptious.
• We watched the 1983 film House on Sorority Row. It was hilarious as we had hoped, but we were all taken aback by the crap ending where the killer isn't even revealed after we spent an hour and a half guessing!
• Shenannigans:
• Amber: Oh, that girl is so going to be the first to die!
• Me: No way, she was using a gun at target practice - there's a reason they showed her doing that!
• Amber: But she's not a virgin. I bet you she dies first.
• Me: Deal. What are we betting on?
• Jaime: Whoever loses takes three shots of vodka!
• Erica: Um, how about one shot?
• Amber takes one shot of vodka.
• I watched two Paul Schneider movies: All the Real Girls (with a young Zooey Deschanel! Like, really young. And with a bad accent.) and How to Lose Your Lover. Can I just say that he is a super underrated actor? You may remember him from Lars and the Real Girl or The Assasination of Jesse James or Bright Star or Parks & Recreation. He's good in everything, if not great. I hope he one day blows every one away in a major role - he was so close to it with Bright Star!

• Brunched, twice. The truffle fries at Five Leaves in Williamsburg are delicious - as is everything there!
• Adam came over and we watched Chances Are, a great 80s movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Mary Stuart Masterson, Cybill Shepard and Ryan O'Neal. Total classic.
• Husband swoonage sprinkled throughout the weekend. I miss that dude. A lot. What's new?!

And this week, besides work and trying to make sure my nose stops leaking, I shall finish WAR & PEACE!

How was your weekend?

Well in war he was a tiger, when it was over like a dove.

One of the only good things about Jesse being away on tour is that I get to wear lipstick. When the dude's around, can't go wearing any sticky gloss or red lips!

This weekend I had a mighty fun time wearing my new Lancome Rock Icon Fuschia lipstick, per my post about hot pink lips trending. Paired with a neutral eye (thanks for letting me borrow Stila's Kitten eyeshadow, Amber - going to buy some myself this week!), I felt quite vamped up. My go-to/signature "party look" usually involves cat-eye retro eyeliner and red lipstick, so this was different for me.

Check it:



Amber and I got real classy for Saturday night dinner and dancing. Also, I love how she smiles in the first picture and decides to be goofy for the following ones. THANKS, Bams.

Also taking it's first outing Saturday night? My L.A.M.B. wristlet!

Yes, I am wearing a shirt that says "You have died of dysentery," via the Oregon Trail. A gift from Jesse, because he knows my love of nerdy nostalgia. The rest of my outfit was pretty killer, too, I must say - L.A.M.B. cheetah print shorts + tights + combat boots.

Whaddya think? I think I pulled off the fuschia lips quite well, but you tell me if it looks too garish.

In other weekend activities, the second-to-last meeting of the War & Peace book club went swimmingly (and by swimmingly, I mean literally through three bottles of champagne) and we only have 88 more pages left! We have big plans for our final meeting in two weeks. BIG PLANS.

I haven't had a night of outright dancing in a long time, and some ladies and I amended that with a trip to Beauty Bar, in which we shook our hips and heads to the 80s, 90s, and a section which seemed from Kells' 2001 mix cd she sent me in college. Good stuff! We got all sweaty! Also, weirdly, playing on one of the walls was the movie Logan's Run, a 70s sci-fi movie, which also happens to have my namesake. My dad named me after the character Jessica Six. Also? I've never seen the movie. We decided, after seeing such spectacularly hilarious scenes, we would need to have a movie night for the film.

On Sunday, my lovely Curbside ladies and I got up early for brunch in the Lower East Side. At one point I needed to go to an ATM, so Jiscilla and I branched off and walking down Norfolk towards Delancey I saw a dude talking on his cellphone. As we got closer I realized it was Sam Rockwell, he of Moon and Choke and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame, and my jaw dropped, I grabbed Jiscilla's arm, and then he looked right at me. Obviously he realized I'd recognized him, which made me practically drag Jiscilla further down the street in haste. Great actor - if you haven't seen Moon, check it out - most overlooked performance of 2009.

After brunch, we walked a whole lotta blocks to 26th Street to take in a Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" dance class. Yes. I learned the choreography to the video. There are a lot of claw hands. I think I excelled at that, at least. Since everyone else had taken the previous three classes in the series, and this was the last class, I lagged behind a bit. It was a lot of fun though, I got a good workout, and now that song will be stuck in my head for weeks. I don't even have it on my iPod....yet.

Though we were all sweaty from dancing for two hours, the girls and I decided to check out the IFC theater for a showing of a new Italian film called Vincere ("Win") about Mussolini and a supposed first/secret wife he had. It was seriously one of the most intense films I've ever seen, and it was good. Also, they cast an Italian actor who resembles an exact cross between a young Al Pacino and Javier Bardem. AKA I went through the first half of the movie thinking, damn I didn't know Mussolini was so fine, and then later when they showed the actual Mussolini in vintage clips, I was going, wow, they really miscast that guy didn't they? He was a great actor, though, a great performance.

I ended my Sunday evening with a gelato and phone call from the husband. How was your weekend?

Sometimes without goodbye, sometimes without hello.

How was everyone's weekend? I had quite the fantastic one.

On Friday: we played boardgames.

Jesse, Andrew, Jaime, Jim!

On Saturday we went to a great beer garden - Studio Square Beer Garden - in Queens and played some more games, in celebration of our friend Nadine's birthday:

The place was a beer garden, but it had sangria on tap. And Sunday was Easter! In which my friends and I gathered for a long brunch, and I wore a special Easter outfit:

J.Crew Cardigan, H&M dress, yellow tights!,  combat boots (new favourite thing ever), and of course, my LAMB bag.

We ate at the Film Center Cafe in Hell's Kitchen, which has a great brunch deal, and delicious food!

Jon, Hagney, Tiffany!

Kelly and Jon!

After the three hour brunch in which somebody turned up Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and a waitress broke out the entire dance in the middle of the restaurant - we went to The Gaf, a bar. We were pretty much the only patrons when we got there at 5pm and started off with some darts. Jesse and I partnered up and kicked everybody else's butt! Yes!

Kells and I striking a pose. 

Some of my darts went astray. And almost hit Jon. WOOPS.

And here is me and Amber - though, I'm not sure why I am posing as such. I think I look funny - like, a housewife or something. I know I'm not describing it well. Anyway, I laughed when I saw this photo.

If you couldn't tell, my friends are awesome and I love them. I truly feel blessed to have such good people surrounding me. Also, hilarious people.

Jesse left today for tour. Sadface. He was only here for four days, but we really made the most of it. I got him to watch Friday Night Lights, so we spent a good chunk of time watching the first season either before going to bed or when we woke up. We saw Hot Tub Time Machine. We met up for lunch on my workdays. We played darts and danced. We went out to dinner. We had fun! And now I miss his mug again, of course!

But I'm super happy. I'm just happy and feeling great and optimistic and fantastic. Better stop writing like this before I jinx myself...

I wanna be where your heart is home.

Just found this picture of Jesse and I in Japan one evening before we headed out. Miss his face! I woke up to an e-mail from him a few minutes ago and sometimes that's all I need to get revved up for my day.

It's been a year and a day since I've talked to you.

I didn't get all the time I wanted to blog about Japan this weekend due to the fact that I have a pinched nerve in my back and since time in front of the computer caused it, blogging would be a bad idea while trying to recover from it. The pain is slowly waning and I'll give it a try tonight!

Besides the back pain, my weekend with my family was spectacular! My parents got a new puppy named Buddy and we had a BBQ with my aunt, uncle and cousin! Also, I watched 500 Days of Summer with my mom, and she's a total Zooey Deschanel hater now. She seems to be a very polarizing celebrity. I, of course, love her.

Also, in things that cracked me up this morning...do we all remember this picture? Well, then I saw this picture. And I laughed a lot. Which happens rarely on Monday mornings when you have debilitating back pain!

Oh! And I got a couple of Formspring questions in my inbox, and I've decided to stop answering them here. So, to whomever sent in those two questions, you can now send them to my Formspring.me page and I'll just answer them there! And any other questions I happen to get - ask me anything!

How was your weekend?!

Picking up what's left of me to sing together.

There's a foot of snow outside...and I'm at work!

My commute to the subway this morning:

Yes, they also left a dumpster in my way to make this morning even more fun! It's better than the slush of yesterday, however. And there was a lot less people on the train, considering that most people got a snow day!

I'm looking forward to my final weekend home before Japan. Tonight I plan on near-completing my packing. Tomorrow I'm getting a mani/pedi with Amber & Erica at our fave place in order to prepare my "jet-setter" look for next week (could Mint Candy Apple make another appearance?!) and then I'm seeing Shutter Island! I love a good suspense thriller - they seem rare these days (too much shock horror) and Scorcese is a master!

On Sunday, I plan to celebrate the birth of one of my best friends, Kells, and eat a lot. Then any last-minute errands I need for the trip! I am a checklist maniac. CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

Before I leave I will be posting my thoughts on the Academy Awards nominations - who will win/who should win and whatnot. Since I'll be out of the country! Wakuwaku suru!

Jesse's in Adelaide today (or should I say tomorrow?) and we got to video chat this morning before work (and before his sleep!). What's so weird is that Adelaide is half an hour off from each time zone - I didn't know such places existed. Right now it's 11am. In Adelaide it's 2:30am (tomorrow!). Anyway, the world is mysterious and I feel rather lucky to be able to talk to him so often when he's literally on the other side of the earth. In a few more days, we'll be reunited again. It will have been a MONTH since we saw each other last on February 3rd. A MONTH. Holy majoly.

So what's up with your weekend?

I'm a lot like you so please, hello, I'm here, I'm waiting.

In less than a week, I will be in JAPAN. I leave next Tuesday, March 2nd!!!!!!!!! I am excited. In Japanese, apparently, that translates to "wakuwaku suru!" I have been saying this to everyone, regardless if they understand.

Jesse is still in Australia, and it's a little tough when he's out of the country. It's harder to coordinate times to talk to each other, and he's not simply a call away, really. We've been doing well, though! The time difference is funny because as I'm getting up to go to the gym and head to work, he's usually just finished a show and heading to bed. When I'm eating dinner, he's waking up. I say "sweet dreams" as he says "have a great day."

With the help of Skype (and specifically the iPhone application!) we can talk on the phone on different halves of the world for free. We e-mail, chat, and video chat whenever he has an internet signal. Just yesterday morning as I got back from the gym, Jesse was online from a venue in Sydney where they had just finished playing (with freakin' Rx Bandits, Glassjaw, Sunny Day Real Estate and Jimmy Eat World!). I got to "hang out" backstage via webcam and catch up with him. He also brought his computer out in some area above/behind the stage and I got to see Jimmy Eat World perform "Bleed American."

As I sat in my bathrobe in New York. Oh, technology!!!

In Japanese - oh, kagaku gijutsu!!!

I'm not sure about much of anything in Japan in terms of internet connections and time available to update, but I'll try to! I'll be traveling with Motion City for their three shows from Tokyo to Nagoya to Osaka. I'll obviously be taking lots of pictures, notes, etc. for a full report upon my return. One other thing's for certain: I won't have to videochat with my husband once I'm there!

And if you want me I'm your country.

Ah, Friday. Fridays are always so lovely, aren't they? I almost feel like my Friday started as soon as I left work on Thursday.

I went to see the film Crazy Heart with Jaime and Erica. GREAT movie. Jeff Bridges has always been a talented actor - but nowhere has it shined more than here as aging, alcoholic country singer Bad Blake. His performance gave me chills, and I won't be surprised to see him take home the Best Actor Academy Award for it next month.

Last night I also recieved a few e-mails from Jesse, who landed safely in Australia for the Soundwave Festival. After a 14-hour flight, I was really excited to hear from him! He's on the other side of the WORLD. This morning he called me via the free Skype iPhone application and we got to talk for a few minutes. He was heading to bed as I was getting up for work! Not going to lie: it's the little things. Hearing his voice totally made my day!

And my smile continues to shine bright because I made a frugal designer purchase! I bought a LAMB ultraviolet wristlette via the invite-only shopping site Gilt. Oh, would you like to see it?

I'm in love! LOVE! I've been desiring a LAMB bag in that color since I saw them previewed last year. It was only $39. Boom - bought! I can't wait to go out dancing this spring/summer and slipping all my necessities in that neon bit of beauty.

Would you like to get in on the LAMB sale and need an invite? HERE YOU GO - CLICK HERE! The LAMB sale ends at midnight on Sunday, 02/21 - but the merch goes fast. The site has some great sales every day - though I only keep my eyes peeled for my favourite labels - like LAMB, of course! Sign up, and have fun.

And the rest of the day promises loveliness implicit in the fact that it's FRIDAY - the weekend begins! Tonight I hope for a little Jesse video chatting, some relaxing, perhaps a DVD or two. More fun on the horizon for the rest of the weekend as my friend Jim will be performing with his improv group at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and I'm excited for my super nerdy book club meeting!

What are you up to this weekend? And how awesome is my latest purchase - you cannot deny!