Pardon My French

This was my typewriter: A Remington Quiet Riter.

Tofu (R.I.P) and my typewriter

It was grey, heavy and–honestly, pretty ugly. But it did the job (I just had to gently bang on the carriage return lever a few times to get to my next line) and that’s all that mattered. The typewriter method required physical labor, which somehow made me feel all the more connected and devoted to the written word.

It was in 2008, when I was living in Grand Rapids, that I got the most use out of it. Clacking away, I was Allen Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac. Not to be cooped up boozing in my air conditioning-free Heritage Hill apartment like the legends who came before me, I went out to work. I needed both of my arms to lug the thing six blocks to the nearest coffee shop. When people would stare I pretended not to notice.

Me and my Remington Quiet Riter

Growing up I never had the distinct privilege of using a typewriter out of necessity. I was born in the late 80s and just so happened to miss out on them. I have a vague recollection of my parents having a typewriter tucked away somewhere under an opaque plastic sheath–a clunky, drab looking IBM-made contraption. I don’t remember ever seeing it in action.

I think I was in high school when I officially became fascinated with “portable” manual typewriters and began scouring the local antique and thrift stores for one of my very own. I soon learned that though, that the both stylish and functioning typewriters I was lusting after–the pastel colored Olivetti’s, Remington’s and Triumph Adler’s–were far out of reach, price tags were often marked between $500 and $1,200 dollars. I could buy a computer with that kind of dough–and I had college to think about. I also felt kind of bummed out when I realized a lot of really beautiful antique typewriters were being dismantled for the sake of jewelry.

When I was in college a guy I was seeing bought me the Quiet Riter, a typewriter of my very own. He got it on eBay and it cost about an arm and a leg to ship. I won’t name names (though, some of you can do the math), but this is probably the only tangible positive thing that came out of that train wreck of a relationship.

In 2010, Phil and I made our trek out to California and the typewriter was really just too difficult to bring along. We only had so much room in the Escape and that space was reserved for our essentials. I pawned my Quiet Riter for $10 without giving it much of a second thought and looking back, I realize I do miss having that thing around. It inspired me.

I have been looking to borrow a working typewriter for a bit (anyone know anyone?)–to create some top secret special items for the wedding. Eventually, though, I would like to buy another typewriter. Maybe next time I’ll even be able to afford a vintage typewriter that’s not only working, but also pleasing to the eyes. A girl can dream.

Typewriters of my Dreams….

Blue Olivetti

Green Remington 2000

Pink Olympia

Bright Red Royal Quiet De Luxe

Planning a wedding isn’t the easiest or most fun thing I’ve ever done. It’s challenging and it’s expensive. I recently heard that the months before you get married can be some of the most difficult because all of the stress and impending stress of a wedding.

I take a deep breath when these feel out of control, though, and I think of my life together with Phil. I’m marrying this man because he means everything to me–and no matter what happens, we’re committed to each other. I don’t care about cake flavors, bridal accessories or color palettes. I don’t about the frilly details–I care about us. After the vows are said and all of the alcohol is consumed, no one will remember the frilly details–like what my centerpieces looked like. Guests will remember the way we looked into each others eyes during our first dance as a married couple and say to themselves “that’s what true love looks like.”

4 1/2 more months until our wedding day!

“I will always stand by you. Even if your body was attacked by a flesh-eating bacteria and all of your limbs had to be amputated, I’d still stay with you.” –Me to Phil, 5/7/2013

Happy Thursday!

This morning was an especially happy one for me because I was able to drop ALL of our Save The Dates in the mail. You have no idea what a big relief this is to me.

It took weeks of bugging Phil to get all of his contacts finalized, cutting/adding contacts, collecting all of the addresses, editing the guest list addresses for mistakes, ordering labels, printing these labels (don’t get me started…) The project was in my lap for two months and now they’re FINALLY done. Woohoo!

Onward!

When we go home to Michigan for our wedding, Phil and I are going to board our cats, Kiwi and Xander. We’ve gone out of town before, but we’ve always been lucky enough to have a friend care for our pets. We’ve just never had to take the leap and put our kitties into strangers hands.

I did some poking around the internet in search of someone with really great user ratings (What did I do before Yelp?) and I found a place called The Best Little Cat House in Burbank.

A cage-free, cat-only facility, their business model is based on “cat luxury.” The way it’s set up is that people can rent these themed playrooms (English Garden Room, Tahiti Room, Japan Room) and they can be shared with other cats or private. What I especially love about their set-up, though, is that they have a controllable web cameras and live feed so that cat owners can see how their cats are doing from anywhere in the world.

They also offer grooming.

When I noticed that my little fluff ball, Xander, was having issues with his turds getting stuck to him, I decided to take him in for an appointment. This past Saturday he got a “kitten clip” and “sanitary potty trail.” We just went for it and gave him a hair cut, just to see how he’d do with having less hair.

Burbank’s not exactly around the corner, but it’s within reasonable distance. I can hop in the car, take the 5-freeway and get there in 15 minutes.

I dropped him off around 1 p.m. and then came back to pick him up around 6. They had him in this little kitty condo and he was wearing a little neck tie. He was so fresh and clean, I hardly recognized him.

He seemed pretty relaxed when I picked him up–and maybe it was my imagination, but he also seemed pretty happy. He slept on my lap the whole way home.

He hated this little tie, but I kept it on him as long as I could
(long enough to take a photo.) Even now, looking at this
photo, that little tie just KILLS me. Too cute for words.

I know I’m a bit crazy cat person for always posting updates about my little guys, but I was just so excited, I had to share. I love them a lot and I can’tt help going a little proud momma on ya’ll at least once in awhile.

Check out my little Valentine’s Day gift for the Brave Dog team. Everyone in the L.A. office got a tiny bottle of champagne and box of chocolates because they’re all my Valentines! ♥

I couldn’t resist the vintage packaging!