For the first time in the two years that I have lived in Austin I have a friend coming to visit for the weekend. I am so so excited! Like, I’m actually cleaning the toilet kind of excited.

Let that sink in for a moment. Whoa. I know.

We’re going to get BBQ and…that’s probably about it because he’s technically here for work but still. I’m going to have a friend in town for 48 hours! Hopefully he won’t hear any Austinites saying douchey Austin things.

And my dog won’t bite him.

My birthday is exactly two months from today and I want to do something fun. I want to go somewhere. And I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.

My last two birthdays have…well, they’ve sucked. No cake, no decorations, no celebration. I’m a birthday person. I’d choose my birthday over Christmas any day. Quality over quantity, as they say. So having a string of bummer birthdays really has me down. My lovely friends and family tried, but it’s hard when I’m in Austin and they’re everywhere else.

Should I sit on the beach in San Diego? Take a cruise to Mexico? Fly to the Bahamas?

My mind keeps going to sandy beach, tropical drinks, and a stack of books but maybe it should be going to bright lights and big cities. New York? Chicago? Hollywood?

Where should I go? And who is coming with me?

Sometimes, I think about quitting my job, buying a teeny tiny trailer, and selling homemade rice crispie treats.

I make really good rice crispie treats.

Still crazy, I know. The name needs some work, too.What kind of crazy shit do you think about doing?

• Much like my co-worker and blogging cohort, Lady Chirps A Lot, I pink puffy heart Chloe Sevigny. Make sure to watch part 1 and part 2.
• I bought myself a little Christmas present. From Tiffany & Co. And then they broke the first time I tried to put them on. Sadness.
• These Maryjane flats in beige, please.
• Shit Girls Say is borderline embarrassing it’s so true.
• Aaaaand watching Jenny Slate doing the voice of Marcel the Shell totally ruined it for me. It’s the exact reason why I didn’t go to the book signing at Book People a few weeks ago. (“I’m a straight-shooter.”)
• Kurt Andersen’s You Say You Want a Devolution? piece in the January issue of Vanity Fair is really great. He argues that the cultural landscape typically shifts pretty dramatically every 20 years but we’ve petered in recent decades. I know I have far too much in common with my 17-year-old cousin and it’s because not that much has changed culturally or stylistically in the time between my high-school years and his. Which means I’m still hip, right?
• The Dougherty Arts School’s Spring 2012 Digital Photography Classes are open for registration and I am so super excited that they are offering weekend classes. You know where to find me every Saturday morning.
• For all you last minute shoppers, I wrote this little gem: Top 10 Beauty and Fashion Stocking Stuffers.
• I’m maybe possibly going to NYC next month to visit my sister. Yippee!
• I hired a cleaning lady! She’s coming before my family visits for Christmas but I just may commit to a monthly visit if she does a fantastic job. But first I have to clean before the comes to clean. (Everybody does that, right?)

Did you have a good week? Share something fun.

And it was awesome. Even though our team lost.

Zooey Deschanel and George W. Bush. Take my word for it.
Zooey did an excellent job with our National Anthem. George didn’t do such a great job with the first pitch.
Watch the video.

Cardinals taking batting practice. All of whom could benefit from some tighter pants.
For professional reasons, of course.

An early inning. Somewhere around the time the Cardinals still had a prayer.

Me and my dad. And the reason why I don’t wear baseball hats.