New Addition + Crap I Find On Etsy

Nope, this ain't your mid-80s, male R&B sensations. This "addition" is much cuter and brings less chance of getting "Poison" stuck in your head. This freshly dropped, soon-to-be hit comes care of Brother and Brother's girlfriend. The duo had previously brought the world the one-hit wonder of my adorable little niece, but now they are back with the vengeance of cuteness on their side...

Premiering on this blog for the first and certainly not last time.... The New Kid On the Block...

Alexander Alfonso (Insert Last Name Here)
8lbs 11 oz, 20 1/2 inches
Born July 28th, 2010 at 2:45am
Commence fawning.

Only the proudest and happiest of aunts would refer to her newly born nephew in early 90s radio jargon.

But I digress. I'm obviously delighted at the news of a new addition to our family. Alex should anticipate loads of kisses, spaghetti, trips around Kankakee, White Sox games, and hard rock music concerts with my paternal side. My maternal side only brings normality. It evens itself out. And there is no doubt that this little meatball will be spoiled rotten as all of us children were and continue to be. He's already got a White Sox teddy bear heading his way when I visit him this weekend.

Anticipate pictures from my visit.

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Because I am in such a pro-child mood, I will bring a special baby edition of Crap I Find On Etsy!

As always, I bring you the bad first:
According to picture documentation, I had the typical rainbow mobile. Cute, practical, and whimsical for the late 80s. Now, imagine if Tim Burton and that seedy seamstress at the tailor shop got ahold of your rainbow mobile. Injecting a nightmare inducing sense of sadness mixed with some really shotty seaming, you get...


If this isn't a reason for continued bed wetting, I seriously dont know what is. I might have peed in fear just coming across this monstrosity of a crib mobile. The fact that the seller claims that it would be adorable in any baby room just sends shivers down my spine. Even the people from the Saw franchise wouldn't dare put this in their child's room.

Ok. I cant look at it anymore. I'm afraid that its raindrops will cut me.

As for the good, well, there were tons of good. I saw the most adorable little onesies listed, including a Neil Diamond one, several Mr. T's, and even one quoting one of my favorite authors. But mainly, I'm in love with this one:

Dana: So what do you think?
Peter Venkman: Well, he's ugly. I mean, he's not Elephant Man ugly, but he's not attractive. Was his father ugly?
Dana: [to Oscar] Don't listen.
Peter Venkman: And he stinks! You're ripe, Senor! Did his father stink? Yeah, I bet Daddy was smelly, wasn't he?

Why yes, that is Bill Murray's orange face on my hispter toddler's tshirt. Enough said.

Crash Landing

This morning, I came across an awesome article regarding traveling without hotels. Hotels can ruin a travel budget. A good one will set up back over $500-a grand, but will ultimately set the standard of your trip. A bad one may save you some change but will cause you to pull your hair out from the thought of a cockroach infestation, gunfight down the road, or the various cases of herpes living in your sheets. I, for one, get skeezed out by hotels for those very reasons. And, let's face it, I'm a cheap gal and I cant justify spending half my rent on 7 days in a room smaller than my living room.

In the article, the author, Benji Lanyado, travels through Europe without using hotels or hostels. Instead, he uses three travel sites that provide room or apartment rental services. For a low to very high price, you can rent out someone's spare room, mother-in-law suite, or entire apartment and house.

I spent a good part of the day drooling over some of the options on the main site discussed, AirBnB. I of course went to my part of the city first. An apartment rental close next to me goes for $55-80 (for a studio near a beach). Next, I went through my terrifyingly large travel wish list and scoured for deals and oddball attractions that would interest and excite me. Here are some of the most unique options I found:

Everyone wants to go to Amsterdam when in the Netherlands... but I am more attracted to these little tipis on that aptly named Tipi Island. For $57 a night, you can sleep in the most remote areas of Europe while attending creative courses and receiving massages.

http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14936

And who wouldn't want to stay in a castle... and while England is not on my list of places I would kill to visit, I still want to include a castle in the mix:

Stainmore Castle

From South America, I am dying to get to Argentina to live out my Evita fantasies, but I cant ignore these awesome star gazing homes in Chilie. For 130/night, you and a guest can star gaze all night, take a late night horseback ride through the forests, and swim in a neon green pool.

ElquiDomos

Want some place truly unique? For $160, chant some nursery rhymes in this boot home in New Zealand. Stinky feet not included. (har-har)

Boot n Breakfast

I highly recommend checking out the site if you are looking for some travel options in some highly desirable places such as Orlando, Hawaii, and California. The site features real apartments, to villas, to backyard tent areas, and luxury resorts. If you are willing to give and take, a guest room or room share will cost you about half the price of a full home stay. Let me know what you find or where you would travel!