Hmm... I'm not sure I'm liking how these iPhone photos are going. I think they might be too small for these blog posts... but I'll keep it up and see if I can make them better. This image is of some flowers on a coworker's desk that I found today. We were all remarking at how long they were lasting, as we peered out the windows at freezing rain and flurries.Today was nothing but work, dinner and the Sons of Anarchy season finale. And a little more work. Kinda boring around here, but being as it's only 10 degrees outside, I'll take it. I've got no problem hunkering down for winter.

Back at work... sigh... Not as bad as I had feared, but still I'd rather be home in my PJs watching bad TV. Anyway, the *good* thing about being at work today was that it was the first day of the company book sale. See, our books editor gets about a grocery cart full of new books every day in the mail (or that's what it seems like). She sorts them and logs them and sends them out to reviewers etc. etc., but at the end of the year, she pulls them all together in a big ass room and sells them for hardly anything, then donates the cash to a non-profit organization. This here was one of the more prized book collections she was selling -- it's a box set of all three of the Steig Larson series (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, etc.) as well as a shorter book about the author. Aren't they LOVELY? Check out those linen covers!And yes. There is an elephant in the room. This photo looks a little different, doesn't it? You see, I'm trying an experiment. This week will be all iPhone photos. I think using the old phone camera will force me to be even more creative in how I capture things. And I promise not to overdo it with the apps (damn hipstamatic green filter makes me wanna barf). So let me know what you think as the week goes on. Um. That is if I can get my comments section fixed. (Sorry. Working on that.)

Our buddy Mandy invited us over today with a few friends for a Thanksgiving Redux where we all brought a dish and had dinner together. She roasted a 23 lb. turkey for the event. TWENTY THREE POUNDS. That's a lot of bird.Anyway, we had a ton of good food (including brownies with caramel in them.... yum.....) and lots of laughs. My favorite quote of the night went something like this:"You haven't read any of the Harry Potter books? I thought you were a geek like the rest of us!""I'm geeky enough that I don't read fiction. I prefer non-fiction."I also liked that Jay didn't cook, but brought egg rolls (delicious egg rolls) as his pot luck item. Always so creative, that one.

I slept in today past 11 a.m. Can you believe that? I mean, a) I couldn't believe I slept that late, but b) I couldn't believe the dogs *let* me sleep that late! Anyway, when these lazybones finally did roll out of bed, I met up with my buddy Alice to do some shopping.It was shopping like I've never done before. Alice is a MACHINE in TJ Maxx. She found *amazing* bargains, and pretty much I just stayed in the dressing room after the first TEN items, and she continuously brought fabulous pieces back for me to try on. I bet I tried on 40 garments. I thought I might get a scarf when I left the house today, but instead I came home with two shirts and four sweaters. Holy smokes.The above photo is of the details on one of the blouses I picked up. It's kind of glam meets rock-n-roll, which I like. It also has a scoop neck, which Alice says shows off my "assets." She also informed me that my bra from the Gap would absolutely not do, and that I should be shopping at Victoria's Secret instead. Y'all should have seen the look she gave me when she learned I was buying lingerie at The Gap. Truly hilarious. What can I say? I'm a comfy t-shirt kind of girl.I have to say though, normally I am not a big fan of shopping (or the dressing room), but we had a blast and tons of laughs today.

We wrapped up tonight over at First Avenue for their annual tribute to the Replacements. This year the evening was focused on the Tim album, and as usual the club was full of happy patrons singing along to all the songs. It's always a nice holiday moment.This photo is of the lead singer of The Goondas. I have heard about how great this band is live over and over and over and over again, but I've never been able to make it out to see them play. Until tonight. And I loved them! I can't wait to see them at their next show -- the lead singer reminds me of a younger Iggy Pop. Oh yeah, I took more photos of all the bands who played tonight... but I'll try to post them tomorrow. It's almost 3 a.m. right now, and this girl needs some beauty sleep.UPDATE: Oh yeah. I posted the rest of the photo set this morning and forgot to tell you about it! Those photos are over here.

Aww, those crazy kids! Tonight we had a few friends over for pie and coffee and beer and Baily's. Oh! And Taboo! I love that game. Anyway, it was super fun to see some friends on the holiday. We had wanted to set up a skype call with Miss Meredith over in Spain, but her internet has been all wonky, and we weren't sure it would work. So I set up a photo booth in the basement, and we all wrote out our messages to her and posed for photos as a nice holiday surprise. I would link to them from here, but some of the shots are just too creepy to share with the whole wild world (KYLE). But overall, it was a super fun way to send our good wishes. Pictured above are Carl and Stacy.Also? On a more random note, I did not cook Thanksgiving this year. I ceded all control to our friends Eric and Betz who invited us over for an *amazing* meal. And? They even sent us home with leftovers! Score! What a fabulous holiday, indeed.

Well thank God today's workload was *significantly* less than normal, because I gotta tell you, my motivation to get stuff done was pretty much close to nada. Around noon, Margaret pointed out our weather situation (go ahead, take a look), and I had one thought: Holy crap, I gotta get to the liquor store before that storm rolls in! Tomorrow is the first time that we will be going to someone else's house for The Big Feast -- wait, someone else that isn't a relative -- and we are tasked with bringing the beverages and the mashed potatoes. So off to Surdyk's I ran (with Margaret and Chandra in tow) to get some tasty drinks. And it's a good thing we left when we did, because right when we walked out of the store the snow started coming down. Anyway, I loved the pumpkins they still had sitting out on display, so I snapped this fall-looking shot before running out into the snow to get back to the office.Also? Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is one of my very favorite holidays of the year, so go on and grab an extra helping of pie. Or gravy. Or mashed potatoes. Whatever floats your boat.