I want to believe

Today is the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The X-Files! I'm having a little X-Files marathon/party tonight (there will be sunflower seeds aplenty) to celebrate and, as usual, trying to dress on theme. When I got dressed I was thinking "oh, green for aliens" but then I realized that's actually more of a generic interpretation of aliens, not X-Files specific.. so let's just say it represents alien blood instead. Which is green.

I was too young to watch The X-Files with my parents when it premiered, but they eventually started letting me join them when I was about 11. And I've been an X-Files super fan ever since! After it went off the air (in the days before internet streaming) I used to catch re-runs on cable and repeatedly watch my season 6 (my favorite!) dvd set over and over. I was so excited when Netflix finally put it on instant -- I think I've watched the series start-to-finish at least 10 times or more since. And I started my own little tradition of watching How the Ghosts Stole Christmas on Christmas Eve every year. It's the perfect way to start my holiday! :)

My favorite non-mythology episode, hands down, is Arcadia (Season 6.) Mulder and Scully pose as a married couple in a Stepford-esque planned community in order to figure out why residents keep disappearing without a trace. As someone who's not too keen on suburbia, that particular element to the story appeals to me, but I particularly love Mulder and Scully's witty banter while they're pretending to be husband and wife ("that's right, poopy head.") They have a lot of great back-and-forth in the series, but their dynamic in Arcadia is (in my opinion) the best.

I also love Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (Season 4) which centers on the possible backstory of CSM. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for him -- his villain isn't as cut-and-dry as most usually are. Even if the events detailed in the episode are fictional, you're still left with the impression of a frustrated, slightly pathetic aspiring author-- hardly the sinister, shadowy figured he appeared to be.



If you haven't watched the show before, I (obviously!) highly recommend it. If you like Breaking Bad, try out the Season 6 (there I go again! It's so good though!) episode "Drive" which stars Bryan Cranston and was written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, and see how you like it!

I know a lot of people who weren't immediately smitten and eventually warmed up to the show and grew to love it. I think it really all depends on which episode you see first. Some of the monster-of-the-week episodes can probably be off-putting if you've never seen the series before (like the one about the radioactive monster that lives in the New Jersey sewers or the early internet creeper who projects spider web vomit on his victims. ewww) and some of the mythology episodes can be really confusing if you weren't already familiar with the whole alien invasion backstory. I personally think it's best -- since the whole series is readily available on dvd, netflix, hulu plus, and amazon instant -- to just start from the beginning. The pilot episode was fantastic, and 20 years (to the day!) later, it definitely holds up. If I wasn't already hooked, the pilot would hook me for sure.

Happy Anniversary, X-Files!! :)

dress- c/o modcloth | shoes - modcloth | lady tie - flapper girl

scalloped collar blouse - asos | fox mulder brooch - sweet and lovely

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DIY television cozy (my favorite project ever!)

Ever since I got my first tv when I was a teenager, I've had a hard time striking a balance between how much I love watching it when it's on and how much I hate seeing it when it's off. Unless you have a monochrome bachelor pad or enough money to make your tv disappear into a dresser, it's kind of difficult to fit these big dark behemoths into your decor.

It probably wasn't super safe, but I covered my first tv in faux concrete acrylic medium so it looked like a big slab of cement. For my last tv I covered the frame in vintage contact paper. Neither of those were perfect (and neither of them covered the screen, which still looked awful when it was turned off) but they definitely helped.



I recently upgraded to a pretty big television (42") and in my tiny pastel room, it just stuck out like a sore thumb. I finally came up with a way to hide it when it's not on, and I wish I had thought of this sooner! It was SO easy to whip this up, and it's equally easy to take it on and off of my tv. And I love it!!

I also spray painted the base light blue (Valspar satin "Encounter") and decided to hang one of my favorite Bette Davis photos from the top when its not in use. It's just on a skirt hanger, so it literally takes 2 seconds to hang it up or take it down and it's lightweight enough to not be doing any damage to my television. Just another simple way to make the tv blend into my room a little more ;)



To make your own tv cozy, first you have to measure your television. Make sure you get exact measurements so that the fabric will fit snug. Also, make sure you actually measure it, don't go by the size of your screen. The advertised screen size is measured diagonally, so my 42" screen is actually 38" across.

Next you want to measure your fabric. Draw out a rectangle that measures the width of the tv by the height of the tv. Then you want to add the depth + 1 inch to each side.



Hem the edges and then sew the corners to create a box. It's kind of like you're making a fitted sheet for your tv! If you're confused at all about what I mean just take a peek at your bed sheet lol :)

Now sew elastic right above the hem. You want to be stretching out the elastic while you're sewing so that it bunches the fabric. Once the elastic is in place, you're done! Just slip the cover over the front of the tv and you're all set.



I found that on my tv the fabric was sagging a tiny bit in the middle (not entirely sure if it's because I wasn't pulling the elastic tight enough while I was sewing or because my tv screen is so big) so I devised a little elastic suspender. I just threaded elastic through small alligator clips (I got mine on etsy) and knotted them tight. One clip at the top and bottom of the cozy helps keep it nice and snug on my tv screen!



When I showed my brother he said "you must be the only person on the planet who would buy a 42" HD television and want to HIDE it!" lol! I just can't stand the way modern tvs look, and don't think we should have to sacrifice the prettiness of our rooms at the altar of entertainment :)

Also, an added bonus to using a cozy -- it also functions as a dust cover! yay!

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periwinkle and sea foam green

You can't see it here but I got a new giant television that's hanging out on my table just to the left of me. It's seriously massive and I have no idea where it's permanent home is going to be yet. I just suddenly felt like my little 19" screen wasn't big enough anymore for someone as obsessed with movies and television as I am. And let me tell you, at least for the moment, the fact that it's a humungous eye sore is being seriously outweighed by the fact that I can now look at Fox Mulder on a 42" screen ♥__♥

Also, I think this is one of my favorite outfits in a while. Hubble even hung around while I was taking pictures, giving his seal of approval. Or tail of approval..

blouse - c/o lalamagic | skirt - h&m | tights - target | sweater - forever 21

shoes - c/o bait footwear | tie - c/o flapper girl

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the office wrap party - part 2

The first place we stopped when we got to Scranton was the Steamtown Mall. It's mentioned in The Office quite a few times but we were there for more practical reasons -- Kyle forgot to pack a shirt and tie in his suitcase. While we were there, though, we found the original Scranton welcome sign that's shown in the opening credits! I read somewhere that they had moved it off the highway and into the mall so it would be easier (and less dangerous) for tourists to take pictures with it!

We took a LOT of pictures in Scranton so it took me a while to narrow down which ones to share, and even then I still ended up with 40 for this post. Yikes! I decided to do one of those "read more after the jump!" things so my blog won't take 200 years to load :)




Our first event was a cocktail party on Friday night. I wore my favorite lace dress, a black bow belt, black tights and black flats. I loved this outfit so much! On Saturday we attended a behind the scenes Q&A panel discussion, a parade and the farewell event at the baseball stadium so I went with something a little more casual. I wore one of my Dunder Mifflin shirts, a red button-up skirt and my favorite red flats. I also wore three of my wooden Office brooches (Creed, Kevin and Dwight.)

Outfit 1: dress - modcloth | belt - f21 | shoes - asos | brooch - sweet and lovely
Outfit 2: shirt - amazon | skirt - modcloth | shoes - asos | bag - asos



At the cocktail party on Friday night we were supposed to meet most of the cast but seven of them missed their connecting flight to Scranton and weren't able to make it. We did get to see Kevin, Erin, Phyllis and Meredith though! The fans kind of swarmed around them and me and Kyle aren't very pushy so we didn't get to meet anyone at the event. It was still fun though, and we got really neat gift bags to take home with a bunch of really awesome Scranton & Office themed stuff.



When we were walking back into our hotel, guess who was coming out! So we actually got to meet Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) after all :D Also, this is when we realized that all of the cast was staying at our hotel which was PRETTY DARN AWESOME. We stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station hotel, which is actually an old turn of the century train station! It's absolutely beautiful (you can kind of understand why Michael Scott thought doing business there would appear "snooty" ;)



After our chance encounter with Kevin we decided to go out to eat. One of the workers at our hotel recommended a little diner called Chick's, which turned out to be really neat! They had out of this world home fries (seriously, out of this world!!!) and those individual juke-box things that let you pay to play a song in the diner. I found Twilight Time by The Platters on the list and probably tortured most of the other guests by playing it five times in a row. I just really love that song :)



The next morning we attended a Behind the Scenes Q&A with some of the crew. It included Paul Lieberstein (Toby!) and Greg Daniels, the executive producer and creator of the American version of The Office. Everyone on the panel was so nice and down to earth, and they had so many fun stories! I really hope the whole thing will be on the season 9 dvd so every Office fan can hear it, not just people who were lucky enough to attend.



They also showed us a couple videos, including one of the storage facility where they are keeping the props and costumes. They saved EVERYTHING. The index cards that Michael put on everyone's forehead in Diversity Day, the yogurt lid medals and the paper doves from the office olympics.. seriously everything. One of the moderators asked what their plans are for the props and they hinted at maybe having a museum someday. Be still my heart!





The next event was the parade in downtown Scranton! All of the cast members had their phones out taking pictures of the fans, which was really cute! I'd love to see all of the photos they took! When Jim and Pam drove by it was like Cinderella and her Prince in a Disney parade. They are sitcom royalty, right?!



At the end of the parade route they had a stage set up where all of the cast members performed and gave little thank you speeches. Since I'm really short and we weren't first in line, we ended up standing on a monument on campus so I could see the stage. It was actually a really great view even though we weren't up close! (Kyle has a real camera with good lenses, hence the amazing pictures here. My iphone just didn't really cut it on this trip lol)



Rainn Wilson gave the beginning of "Dwight's speech" -- "Blood alone moves the wheels of history!" It was soo cool hearing him in character in person!



Creed sang two songs from his new album! He's really good! Later on somebody asked him where the fake Creed ends and the real Creed begins and he replied, "probably in jail" lol!



It was so cute to see Ellie Kemper and Jenna Fischer whispering on stage! Me and Kyle were pretending that they were gossiping about Angela and Dwight ;)



Jenna Fischer did air-high-fives with the crowd! It was the sweetest thing ever!! I'm usually not very comfortable participating in crowd activities (clapping, yelling, etc.) but I was like a totally different person on this trip! I was totally air-high-fiving with everyone else, and so excited to be doing it!



The girls from The Office singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"!!



Andy Buckley (David Wallace) gave a rousing rendition of "Suck It," the jingle (if you could call it that?) for his character's invention on the show. I'm a big David Wallace fan so that was pretty fun! I loved that he had on a Suck It sweatshirt too, lol!



At the end of the show, Rainn Wilson called up creator Greg Daniels to the front and said that he really truly is the "World's Best Boss." CUE THE TEARS. I had a hard time keeping my composure all day but at that point I just totally lost it. Oh! Also! I met Greg Daniels during the parade!! I look terrible in the picture so it's for family eyes only but he was so incredibly sweet. I thanked him for taking the photo with me and he said "Thank you! I'm just surprised anyone would want a picture with me." I'd think everybody would! Without him we wouldn't have the show.



Later that night we attended the farewell event at PNC baseball field. I think the paper said the next day that there were 10,000 fans there!!






Originally the scheduled guests were Craig Robinson (Daryl), Rainn Wilson (Dwight), Ellie Kemper (Erin), Oscar Nunez (Oscar), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis), Creed Bratton (Creed), Paul Lieberstein (Toby), John Krasinski (Jim), Jenna Fischer (Pam), Brain Baumgartner (Kevin), Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Andy Buckley (David Wallace). And that was more than enough for me.

But then they announced what I thought was impossible -- Steve Carell was there. MICHAEL SCOTT!!! ahhhh!



Kyle took a picture of my reaction when they announced he was the surprise guest. I look like a complete buffoon but I think this is the only way you can fully grasp how excited I was lol..



I was crying, screaming, shaking... just SO excited. Michael Scott is basically my favorite character in any tv show or movie, ever. I just love him to death.




Andy Buckley took the microphone and gave "exit interviews" to each of the cast members. It was really sweet and so funny! You could tell that they all get along and really love each other. I think the photo above was taken after Andy Buckley asked Jenna Fischer what would be one quality that Jim has that she wished her real life husband shared. John Krasinski looked like "oh I'm interested in hearing the answer to this one" lol! It was so cute!



A little later they took questions from the audience and they picked me! I had a few minutes to prepare, so I asked the guy (who was the organizer of the event) if I could make a statement instead of asking a question, and he let me. I had promised Millie that if I had the opportunity I'd tell Creed that she loved him. Millie got me to watch The Office a few years ago so without her I wouldn't even be a fan! I figured it was the least I could do to say thank you :) So when it was my turn, I (incredibly nervously!) pronounced Millie's love! Creed said he loved her back. It was so fun but I was so so nervous that I'd mess up!



After the Q&A was over the entire cast took a bow. Goosebumps!!



Then they announced that in a few minutes there would be a fireworks show. I'm usually not very big on fireworks so I asked Kyle if he wanted to leave, but he was still taking some pictures of the cast members as they were leaving the field so we hung around. I'm SO glad we did because it was the most amazing fireworks show of my life. If you're a big fan of The Office this will probably give you goosebumps..

The fireworks started with The Office theme song blaring from the speakers, then continued while various audio clips and songs from the show played. I couldn't stop crying the entire time, it was almost magical. I feel like such a dork admitting this since "it's a tv show!!" but it is so important to me, I can't even describe it. It was just amazing.



When we got back to the hotel, there was Andy Buckley! Our mom's maiden name is Buckley, so Kyle told him that and he said "oh really? what's her name?" and when Kyle replied "Judy" Andy said "ohhhhh, cousin Judy!" It was really cute :) We immediately called our mom to tell her (she's a fan of the show too!) Now if only he WAS our cousin and we could hang out with him all the time, haha!



And now this was probably THE most exciting part of the whole trip. A whole bunch of weird things happened to lead up to this that I won't go into, but we ended up behind the bar at the Backyard Ale House along with the cast of The Office while they were tending bar. We were there for almost two hours I think, and it was just one of the best times of my whole life.

Fun fact! This was actually my first time in a bar. I'm 26 and the first time I'm ever in a bar I'm there with the cast of The Office. Not bad, lol! ;D







Seriously, this was just unreal. UNREAL, I TELL YOU!!



Me and Rainn Wilson! I had on my wooden Dwight brooch and he said he liked it, so I gave it to him. He wasn't sure what to do with it so I said he could turn it into a magnet, but now I realize I never said that I made it so he probably thought I was just some really weird girl giving him my jewelry. Well... I was some really weird girl giving him my jewelry I guess.

He was really sweet though and took it anyway :) I saw he posted a picture of someone with Dwight's face tattooed on their arm so at least I wasn't the most crazed fan of the day I guess ;D



And then of course there's this. sigh.

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