i have cupcakes in the oven even as i type this

i hope the alarm on the stove is loud enough to reach downstairs.

sewing with tulle is a bitch. sewing with netting, also a bitch. waiting until the last moment to finish my halloween costume? the biggest bitch of all! but in a fun way. you'll know all about my costume-y goodness tomorrow, when i wear the damn thing out and take a million photos of it. now that it's done, the outfit part is kind of boring, but the make-up part is going to be fun. i'm probably more excited about boy roommate's costume, which i finished tonight. he's going to be dog the bounty hunter! i found an awesome mullet wig, and made some of those leather and feather hair thingies for it. he's a big guy with a blonde beard to start with, all he needs are the shades, a black shirt, and he's already done. boys are so lucky.

i got my first birthday present yesterday and i opened it right away. i know, it's not my birthday, but in my own defense it was already half open when i got it. the post office in my neighborhood sucks ass! i opened it the rest of the way and found the new book by amy sedaris, i like you; hospitality under the influence. i would tell you it's great, but it's better than great. it's amazing, and funny and smart and i could hardly put it down once i had it in my hot little hands. what i love best about amy sedaris is that she's unashamed of her love of cooking and entertaining, and doing "happy homemaker" stuff; she's still exactly her own woman, who just happens to love cupcakes more than i do.

this afternoon i went to the post office to pick up the package my mom sent me for my birthday. i tried to not open it, but then i did. one of the women i work with actually said, "but it's not your birthday!" to which i replied, "i know, but i'm a grown-up and i want to open it now." what's the point in being this old if i have to wait? inside the box were treats to eat, a ridiculously cute bracelet that's an inside joke between mom and me, and two (two!) pairs of hand-knit socks. the socks are amazing, they fit my fat little feet perfect; one pair is a lovely purple, and one is a dark turquoise. plus, some squid-related goodies. you have to love that my mom encourages my love of squid. technically the package was also from my pop, but it had "mom" written all ove it. i have to say, the one thing that has never gotten old during this year in colorado is the great packages from my people. i don't know that anything else in the whole world makes me that happy.

i spend more time with my co-workers than i do anyone else on the whole entire planet. if i had to choose who i wanted to devote 40+ hours a week, i might choose some other people (you know, like friends or family) but i have to say, on the whole i don't mind spending basically every waking moment with the kids at work. yesterday i got to work at 8:30 in the morning and left at 8:30 at night, due to a work meeting and a slew of customers coming in at five-to-close. we were all expecting the work meeting to be stupid and boring, but we got a free dinner out of it, and honestly, it was a lot funnier than i thought it would be. our new favorite joke at work is "that's what she said," which we employ far more often than is neccesary. we think it's a joke that only gets funnier and funnier the more we say it, but i bet basically everyone else in my life is sick of hearing it. too bad! i think there was more of a point to this story, but i can't remember what it was. that's what she said!

also, halloween is just around the corner. the roommate's and are going to a party this weekend and tonight i picked up some more stuff for my costume. i don't think i've been this excited about the high holy holiday in years. i also picked up some amazing dia de los muertos fabric that i've been meaning to buy forever, and am hoping to make a new purse out of it soon. or something; it's so crazy pretty i'm not sure what to do with it. i kind of just want to spread it out and look at it a lot. last but not least, i don't have a muffin tin for some reason, so i bought one so i can make eyeball cupcakes. holiday cupcakes rule! that's what she said!

it's not exactly baking

but i still went a little cupcake crazy this past week and weekend. it's a pretty basic design i drew, but changing the expressions and colors makes it extra fun to work on.

i went and looked at bikes this weekend, too, so i can get a handle on how much one might cost. i'd like to spend around $100, but the bikes i really loved were more than that. i might go ahead and save up enough money for a really spectacular one, or try to buy one once the weather turns crappy, because maybe they'll be cheaper then. it was easy enough to find red ones, although i have to admit i saw an orange one i kind of really liked too. all i know for sure is that i definately want one with huge fenders, and some pinstripe action. also, i don't care about gears. it's flat here, and i never plan on taking my bike to the mountains. i just want something big and dorky to tool around on.

i also had entirely too much drink this whole weekend, which culminated in a great saturday night out where i got to chit chat with all my favorite bartenders. one of them is extra-cute, and it was fun to be out with my roommate drinking girly drinks and goofing around. i love my boy roommate, but when he comes out with us we don't get a lot of boy action. i think they can't always tell who he belongs to, which is fine for my girl roommate, but sucky for me. i need to get a shirt to wear out that says, "third wheel" so it will be evident that i'm odd girl out. although i don't really look like them, or hold hands with either of them, so it should already be pretty clear. you just can't take for granted what a boy with a few drinks in him will or won't think. they are mysterious enough sober.