Before & After: Booted out!

Boots are in.

But really, boots are classic. When are they not going to be "in" (aside from during the summer)?

The problem with boots is that no one keeps the packaging the boots come with to keep the shafts (heh) in the correct form. Ok I kept some, but I never actually zipped them into the boots after I wore them three times.

The other problem with boots is that they don't fit in my shoe rack. So instead, I just take them off and throw them over the edge of my headboard to the closet, where they just hang out on the floor, looking messy and getting saggy. Sometimes they chat it up with the random pillows that also live on the floor.

Before: The boot area

That DSW bag does not have boots in it. Instead, it has a new pair of black pumps. They stay in the box under the shoe rack unless I have a meeting at work.

I got sick of tripping over the boots when I needed something in the closet, which was basically every day since I keep all my shoes and laundry there. I stared at the closet, then back at the boot area. And then I had a brilliant thought: I would hang my boots. Never mind that the closet was packed, I would hang them off the headboard! What use is a $10 metal headboard if you don't hang something off of it?

After: The boot solution

Boots! Hung neatly! I used skirt/pant clipper hangers and a bit of twine. The hangers leave a slight impression on the boots, but nothing that anyone would notice. 

It may not be the prettiest solution, but it is so functional that I freaking love it. I implemented the solution last November, and it's now March, and I'm still hanging up the boots after I wear them. And I wear them more frequently since I can more easily see them!

How do you store your boots? Or don't you?
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Before & After: The story of a sink

Oh Befores & Afters, how I love thee. Just when I think we can't make any other changes to our place... inspiration strikes. Slash annoyance. No one likes looking at the extra toilet paper, though everyone likes having it around. No one likes looking at extra toiletries and products - well except Kate S. perhaps - but everyone, or at least me, likes having them around.

Before:

Let's get a close-up of that clutter:

Ah yes.. The TP, Q-tips, mouthwash, extra lotion, plunger, scrubber, and trash can common to all bathrooms. Unlike most bathrooms, however, our sink is the most basic possible, consisting of just the sink, faucet, and pipes. Full vanities are for other people. The non-renting kind of people.

After. Enter the Sink Skirt. Inspired by this pedestal sink skirt from Little Green Notebook, only with a few changes since my sink doesn't have a lip under which to stick the skirt. Instead it's bravely out there in the open.

Do you feel happier? I know I do. I can even temporarily ignore the make-up piled up on the shelf.

T's comment upon seeing the fabric: "Floral?! Um.." I promised him that I would make an alternative non-floral version, but it's hard to find a fabric to match the sage green walls and blue tiles. They ran out of the striped stuff I used for the closet curtain.

It just took a little industrial adhesive velcro, some regular velcro to sew onto the skirt, and the skirt itself, which was made with a scrap from the bedroom closet curtain and a contrasting floral material. I made a yoke of sorts at the top so it would lay smoothly against the sink, and then made the sink skirt slightly gathered to allow all of our various sundries to be stored. To be frank, I'm not wild about the fabric, but it'll do for now.

Now, when I lay in bed with the bathroom door folded open, I won't have to stare at our TP. Hallelujah.

For the women in my life

Here's a little laugh.



Hilarious.

BONUS: This snorting-ly funny coming of age as a woman story from Hipstercrite.

Land's End Canvas Line

Land's End has a new line of clothing called "Canvas". Their motto is "real clothes for real people. Excuse me if I don't think this woman looks like a real person:

The clothes are hanging off of her, and not in a good way! I could snap her arm with my pinkie finger. I thought that a lot of clothing lines - especially more "hearty" brands like Lands End - were moving towards having models who were at least a size 4... disappointing it's not actually true. 

Too Many Caseys at Verizon

Somehow, when an individual (Debbie) working for the city of Edmond AZ hit "reply" to her Verizon Wireless sales rep, she decided that the email address there couldn't possibly be correct. It was casey.williams at verizonwireless dot com. Not sure where the confusion was.

Somehow, this other Casey Williams's coworker, named Chet Casey, forwarded the email to Casey Williams in order to set up a meeting with Debbie, he put in my gmail address. Not the Verizon Wireless email address. I don't get it.

from	casey williams at gmail dot com
to		"Casey, Chet" , casey.williams@verizonwireless.com
date		Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:35 PM
subject		Re: RE: My Business account set up for City of Edmond
mailed-by		gmail.com

jesus h christ.

for the third time, i am casey williams who lives in boston, not in AZ.

i work in search engine marketing, not in sales for verizon.

i used to have a verizon phone until the iPhone came out. However, I am considering a Droid phone when my contract is up. I imagine it would be hard to be in wireless sales and not have the iPhone in your product line... though you still have Blackberries and now the Droid, so maybe things are looking up.

Good luck replacing Debbie's boss's phone.

Sincerely,

Casey Anne Williams
Boston, MA

PS. Do you find it confusing to have a co-worker with the same first name as your last name?

Photos from Thailand Posted

Drum roll please... photos from Thailand have been posted! These might be further edited, with new additions as I go through the photos again and get a roll of film (yes film) developed. 99% of the photos have a caption explaining what the hell you're looking at. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions about the trip, the tour company we went through (SmarTours, a great deal), or how to cook Tom Yum soup.  :-)

Thoughts on the new background?

Blogger has some nifty new layouts. Any thoughts on the new background and layout? Kinda busy, I know...
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GNC Thinks I Need to be Healthier

or at least take some supplements. Verdict's out on whether or not they actually make you healthier.

Hi GNC,

I unsubscribed from your email list yesterday, since I didn't actually ever sign up for it. It was a different Casey Williams who doesn't know his/her own email address. Either you really think I need some healthy vitamins or your email database has not been updated, but either way I really have zero interest in receiving your excessive emails (which is why I unsubscribed). 

Do people actually want to read emails about vitamins from you every single day? I mean, really, what changes on a day to day basis in the vitamin and supplement world?

I would appreciate if you removed caseywilliams at gmail from your email list, for real this time. In the mean time, I will consider adding a multivitamin to my daily pill intake. Deal?

Sincerely,

Casey A Williams
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Back Home from Thailand

Annnnddd..... we're back! 1 bus ride, 5 airports, 4 flights, 3 layovers, 1 flight change, and 1 taxi ride = 35 hours of travel back home to Boston. I am greeted by a new "Casey Williams" imposter who has signed me up for Nestle Family, Nestle Health, GNC, and Disney something. It's like they just got email for the first time, and discovered email newsletters. Sigh.

Pictures will come soon. Highlights of the trip include:
1. Making paper.
2. Riding an elephant.
3. Taking multiple boat rides.
4. Eating lots of pad thai.
5. Hanging out at a preschool.
Bonus Highlight: Our tour guide, Ketsara, was fantastic. Down to earth, friendly, caring, knowledgable. I 100% recommend SmarTours Thailand.

Low lights of the trip:
1. 26 hours of travel to get to Bangkok.
2. 36 hours of travel back to Boston.
3. Awful, awful, awful intestinal issues. I've been to lots of developing countries, and had intestinal issues before, but they all pale in comparison to this one. I actually threw away the t-shirt I was wearing during the onset of it. Ew.

Back to settling in! And drinking our lovely lovely lovely clean tap water.