But hey, I’m back. And with yet another Pinterest Project! Wine cork coasters.

These things are everywhere, aren’t they? Wine corks are huge right now. People are using them for corkboards, coasters, wreaths, etc.  And it stands to reason that you SHOULD be using them for something. I mean, if you drink a decent amount of wine, you’re guaranteed to have enough for a set of coasters in no time. Especially if you wait until after a holiday party. A wreath requires substantially more… but it’s kind of a fun thing to save ‘em. Plus it helps you remember which ones you really liked. Me & Jay are bad at that. We tend to only recall the same 4 wines and forget about the random really good ones with names we’d never even remember.

It’s kind of obvious we really like Cellar No. 8 & Smoking Loon.

We drink a lot of wine. Well… no, not a lot. Enough. We like a to watch movies with a nice bottle of wine every now & then, and the corks really do add up after a while. Anyway, I decided to take this bowl of corks and do something with them. At first, I liked this idea: little mini frames filled with corks to make fancy coasters. But I also really wanted to make a wreath- an Italian restaurant we go to has one hanging up, with fake grapes & Spanish moss and it looks so pretty.

But I finally decided on making coasters.

I didn’t really follow directions on this. I just saw another kind of coaster I liked that I had pinned on my DIY Pinterest board and did my best to copy it. Here’s what I did:

1. First, I set up a work area. Put some old magazines & newspapers on a table, got my glue together (super Krazy Glue, Elmer’s and glue gun- just in case. Never know what kinda glue you’ll need!), etc.
2. Next I gathered up my corks, and sorted them. I paired them together according to size/shape. Some are wider on one end than the other, some are curvy, some are straight, some are shorter than the rest. I tried to make them all uniform, or at the very least pair them up with other corks that fit snugly next to them. I also scraped off any cork that was coming off from where the bottle opener went in, just to even the edges.
3. I started to just glue them together with the Krazy Glue, one pair at a time. When I had all the pairs done & dry, I started to set them up in the pattern I wanted. Once I had them looking even, I went ahead and started gluing each pair to another pair until I had four pairs glued together in a square.
4. I let them dry overnight. The next day I checked to make sure they were glued well, and if not, I added more Krazy Glue. I let them dry again for a few hours.
5. At this point, I cut squares of black felt that were smaller than the coasters by maybe an inch, or maybe a half an inch. I glued (with a glue gun) the felt squares on the bottom of the coasters. I tried to get the glue in the crevices of the corks, so that the coasters would still be even and lay flat. Once glue gun glue dries, it’s like a tube of hardness… you don’t want that mucking up your coaster.
6. Once they were all done… I cracked open a bottle of wine & used ‘em.

There are probably way better explanations & directions out there. But hey, this worked for me!

Another excellent idea instead of using felt is to use that rubbery drawer/cabinet-lining stuff. You can cut it to the size you want, and this way the coasters won’t slide. I might put some on the bottoms of mine. It comes in taupe & black too.

If you feel like it, you can always follow me on Pinterest. I pin a lot of stuff, and some of it is pretty damn awesome.

Anyway, here’s my third “Pinterest Project” post on textdrivebys.com. I don’t mind being known as the crafty chick, but I really should start writing about other stuff, huh? Haha. It seems as if all I do is make  DIY stuff from Pinterest. Which is only half true- I bake, as well. Anyway… here’s my third project. And it involves the ever popular chalkboard paint. (Now do you get the pun?)

I’ve always loved the idea of chalkboard paint. I remember I was either in middle school or maybe even 6th grade the first time I saw the Crayola brand chalkboard housepaint in a magazine & I wanted my entire room painted in it. That didn’t happen, of course. But as the years went by, I always thought it’d be great to paint a part of a kitchen wall with it & use it as a weekly menu or shopping list. That never happened either (not that I’m saying it never will, it just hasn’t yet). Ansd now the line has expanded, and more colors were introduced. Now you can get chalkboard paint in just about any color, not just the traditional black & green. Many different brands make it now, as well. And of course you can also get it in small bottles of acrylic-based paint for small craft projects.

Anyway, I saw this idea on Pinterest (duh) and decided I really wanted to do it.

screenshot of my original repin

I thought it looked really pretty, and unique, and I liked the idea of hanging it anywhere I wanted. Not to mention the idea of writing different messages or drawing different things on it based on the holiday or my mood. You could hang it on your front door & write ‘WELCOME’, hang it on your bedroom door & write ‘Do Not Disturb’, or even hang it on the bathroom door & write ‘OCCUPIED’, etc, etc. It’s just a clever idea. The link turned out to be a bad link, but the photo & caption (not written by me) was pretty much self-explanatory. All you had to do was buy a dollar store silver tray, paint the inside with chalkboard paint, let it dry and attach a ribbon, if desired. Then get yourself some chalk & go nuts!

I bought two trays in case I fucked up, but I didn’t. I also bought Martha Stewart’s acrylic chalkboard paint in black. I think it was about $5.49 for a 6-ounce squeezable bottle. She’s got tons of colors, though, so don’t feel like you have to do black. I just like the traditional chalkboard look… as a matter of fact I’d like to do one in green too. I gave it three coats of paint using a black sponge brush (like the one in the above photo), and let it dry 24 hours in between each coat. Once it was totally dried, I rubbed chalk all over it to “prep” it, then erased it. I did this twice. Try and get the paint as smooth as possible with the brush. If not, you’ll have ridges in it & it’ll be very hard to write on.

I decided I wanted to hang mine, or at least have the option. So I went & bought a thick black ribbon with soft wire in the edges at a craft store. The particular ribbon I bought was 6 yards for $3.99: I could’ve gotten 3 yards for really cheap in the sale bin, but there wasn’t any black ribbon & that’s what I wanted. I’m very Goff. I measured it, cut it, tied it all fancy-like, and then glued it onto the back of the tray with supercrazyheavyduty craft glue. I let that dry, then hung it up.

Voilà.

Hanging chalkboard tray frame thingy.

Stupid easy, stupid cheap and stupid cute. I kinda love it.

You could also use a vintage tray from a thrift or secondhand store. The rustic look would add to it, especially if it was tarnished or discolored. Another excellent idea would be to use a picture frame instead of a tray. Any beautiful frame would work- just remove the glass, paint it with the chalkboard paint, and when it’s dry replace it. Glue a ribbon to the back and it’s the same idea. I’m thinking I might have to try that. I do have practically a whole bottle of paint left, after all…

Do you watch Girls?  Who is your favorite character?

Get excited for Season 2 – Girls returns on HBO on January 13, 2013

Photo Credit: Dale Hoffman

Xunantunich, Belize – Celebrate the End of the World on Maya land! Tour the exquisite ruins, explore caves, zip-line, cave tubing, jaguar tracking are just some of the amazing things you can do in Belize. The Ka-ana resort will customize an experience just for you kaanabelize.com

Photo credit: Marshall Astor

Marfa, Texas – Check into a vintage trailer or teepee at El Cosmico – modern camping at it’s finest.  Beyonce recently filmed a music video here and shared stunning, fun photos.  A trip to Marfa promises to be hip yet relaxing.  Ballroom Marfa is home to film, music and art installations.  Don’t forget to visit Marfa’s Prada store.

Photo credit: Galerie Perrotin

Paris, France – Check out NYC-based artist KAWS newest exhibition “Imaginary Friends” at Galerie Perrotin in the day and eat macarons by the Eiffel Tower at night.  Have the best romance by yourself!

Photo credit: Alamy

Queenstown, New Zealand – Lord of the Rings fans rejoice for the release of The Hobbit! Queenstown  is home of Middle-earth and an excellent city to visit for those adventurous at heart!  Take a LOTR tour, go skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, sky diving, bungee jumping…

Photo credit: Marshall Astor

Southern California – Start your vacation skiing and end it surfing. Or if you would much rather shop on Rodeo Dr. and party in Hollywood: Southern California is diverse and has so many things to do, see and eat. Visit a museum – Stanley Kubrick exhibition is at LACMA, Space Shuttle Endeavour is at California Science Center, catch a movie premiere, go on a TMZ tour, see graffiti behind the shops on Melrose, eat an LA dog in Downtown LA, this is a great vacation destination for anyone.

Do yourself a favor and shop small business tomorrow and from here on out.  Here is the first installment of our gift guides for the holiday season.  Curated by Marilla Cupcake and A. Shankasaurus!

one.  Day of the Dead Skeleton Christmas Doll Ornament by cartbeforethehorse $12 US

two.  Neckwarmer Scarf by piprobins $50 Canadian

three.  Little Bow Earrings by laonato $15 US

four.  Mr. T Teapot by lennymud $40 US

The Weeknd at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

I first heard The Weeknd some weekends ago on Pandora when he was featured on a song. I thought his voice was smooth and I enjoyed the explicit lyrics so I opened a new station with his name. I caught myself bobbin’ my head to pretty much all of his songs. I googled the name and found tons of info on him.

Abel Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, is a 22 year old from Ontario, Canada who isn’t afraid to tell you how he really feels. The Weeknd released some tracks on YouTube last year followed by three free mix-tapes on his Tumblr – House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. By doing that he received a lot of praise and was given a record deal plus made a lot of powerful friends. I love when artists put their music out for free to receive fan feedback. That tells me that you are in it for the love of it not because you want to get paid.  Too many artists nowadays are out here making music nonstop and it all sounds the same. Show me how much you care for your art. Show me how much work you’ve put into it and I’ll definitely be the first one to pay for your shit when it drops.

The Weeknd has worked with artists like Drake, Doc McKinney, Illangelo, Zodiac, Wiz Khalifa, and Juicy J. He is considered to be in the R&B or Hipster R&B genre. Hipster R&B or PBR&B (Pabst Blue Ribbon & Blues) has lo-fi rhythms and is richly textured with emotional & explicitly sexual lyrics by artists who lay it all on the line.  Artists in this genre are similar to Frank Ocean, Holy Other, Drake, and Miguel. The three mix-tapes The Weeknd released on his Tumblrlast year were re-released and remastered Tuesday, November 13, 2012 with the addition of three new HOT bonus tracks. His lyrics are full of miserable, long lonely nights, love in all forms, heartbreak, drugs, and wild sex. I bet a lot of you can relate to that. There’s just something about a man who can sing his ass off and still use curse words so smoothly. Umph!

From Wicked Games (no where near Chris Isaak’s version)

Bring your love baby I could bring my shame/Bring the drugs baby I could bring my pain/I got my heart right here/I got my scars right here/Bring the cups baby I could bring the drank/Bring your body baby I could bring you fame/And that’s my motherfucking words too/Just let me motherfucking love you

From Twenty Eight (New bonus track)

Hey there lonely girl/Did you have to tell your friends/About the way I got you screaming my name/Now your girls all wanna fuck/Girl you could’ve been the one/Now I gotta change my number twice a month/When you could have simply kept it on the down low

and

Baby if I knew you’d be living in my sheets/I wouldn’t have shown you any love/I would have left you in the club

If that doesn’t capture your curiosity then I’m not really sure what will. Me on the other hand.. Yeah I can’t stop listening to him rhyme about his sexual encounters with random strippers and the massive amounts of drugs he hints to have taken.

Do NOT sleep on this man. He has a distinct voice similar to Maxwell but dirtier and curse words right where they need to be. Let me know how he does in your book.

When 9/11 happened, my heart collapsed. It just ceased to beat, it seemed, because my beautiful city was so injured. It’s people- my fellow New Yorkers- killed off in an act that still, to this day, is unfathomable to me. It felt like my heart just broke, and that it would never heal. But as the city regained it’s footing, my heart began to regain it’s rhythm. It restarted & healed itself & got on with things, just like the city itself. New Yorkers don’t dwell on this shit. We pick ourselves up and get the fuck moving again. We rebuild. We go on. We keep on truckin’ & we let NOTHING hold us down.

But now, again, my heart is broken.

And once again, my city is hurting.

Hurricane Sandy tore through the tri-state area and left a path of destruction & death in her wake. 9/11 hit home; my father lost co-workers and friends, my mother lost friends, my friends lost family. My father worked tirelessly down at Ground Zero day after day after day, I saw the realities of it firsthand. I felt it. I was there, in New York City that day. I know terror. I know sadness & fear of what might be coming. I know the emptiness that comes with being helpless & in a situation you can’t control. But thankfully, no one close to me perished that day. I was sad for the towers, sad for the people who died, sad for myself. I spent months in a state of shock & sadness that weighed on me like an ACME anvil in a Roadrunner cartoon. The things I saw that day & the things I heard about that day will forever be etched in my mind. I’ll never get over it or get past it.

But Hurricane Sandy really hit home… literally.

Manhattan skyline without power – NY Daily News

Breezy Point, Queens NY – NY Daily News

Subway flooding in Manhattan – NY Daily News

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Right after Jay headed into work Monday night, around 5:30 p.m., I knew shit was getting real. The wind was insane. It only got worse, and I was surprised there wasn’t much rain. I thought that would be it for the wind, really, I didn’t think it could get worse. Boy was I wrong. That was just 70 mph gusts.

I lost power at around 8:30 p.m. on Monday, October 29. It was the scariest thing; everything pitch black with just 90+ mph wind gusts, sustained winds of 75 mph. Trees bending in half, literally. I didn’t get power back until Friday, November 2nd, and I was lucky to have gotten it back that quickly at all. I had a battery-operated radio to get my news from for those few days, but hearing about things and seeing them are very, very, different. When you have no phone to speak with family & friends for days, you don’t get the full impact of what’s happening. Then the sun comes up, and the power goes on, and you see it. And what a harsh reality it is.

I’m lucky, I live far enough from the water that the storm surge (which I believe topped out at almost 18 feet OVER what it normally is, between the storm surge, high tide & the full moon) didn’t affect me. But Jay’s family had 5 feet of water in their basement.

Seaside, New Jersey- Tim Larsen/New Jersey Governor’s Office/REUTERS

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I’m lucky, you see.

I have my home. I have a roof- minus a few shingles, yes. But it’s there. I have my entire house intact. I have food & clothes. So I went a few days without power. Big deal. Yeah, it was cold. But I knew it would end at some point. I knew eventually I’d have lights. At least I had a gas stove to cook food & give some heat to the place.

When people you know or your own family lose their entire home or apartment, you begin to realize the depth of the situation. When your significant other’s family has gallons of dirty water in their basement, ruining everything in sight or when their 89-year old grandma loses her entire apartment, except for her valuables and photo albums. When you know people who have nothing to eat and no heat & need to eat the prepackaged FEMA military-style meals. When you personally drive by homes and see the trees sticking out of the roof, or roofs torn off, the windows blown in, the boats that landed in people’s front yards (some with dock still attached). When you hear firsthand about the tragedies. The little 13 year old girl whose body was found, in her pajamas, on the lawn of her home… her father’s body a couple of feet away in a wooded area. The two little boys swept out of their mother’s arms when her neighbor refused her help in the midst of the storm. The woman who tried to stick it out and when the water came rushing in her windows, she had to jump on her kitchen table to avoid being drowned, then had to be rescued through her roof. The off-duty cop who, after evactuating his family, was electrocuted & killed in his flooded basement. The family who evacuated and returned to find absolutely nothing left but a few pieces of wood and a handful of family photos. When you see a place like Long Beach, NY, that looks like a 5 foot snowstorm hit… but yet it isn’t snow, it’s sand. From the bottom of the ocean.

Long Beach, Long Island, New York – Boston.com

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Not only is New York my heart… but New Jersey is part of my blood too. My family has owned summer homes there, we’ve vacationed there, I’ve been all over the Jersey Shore from Seaside Heights to Wildwood to Atlantic City to Keansburg & back. I love the Jersey Shore (not the TV show). And now that, too, is all but gone.

Union Beach, NJ – NY Daily News

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At this point, anyone denying climate change is a fool. But I don’t want to make this a polarizing post, so let me stop.

These photos here? This is not a third world country. This is New York City. This is New Jersey. This is Connecticut. This is Maryland, and D.C. From seaside mansions to trailers, from brownstones to high-rises, we were all affected. It’s not a low-income versus high-income issue. This isn’t a red state/blue state problem. This isn’t a Christian or Jewish problem. This is a human problem. This is about people. Children. Pets. Grandparents. Babies. A sampling of races & ethnicities & religions, all without the basic necessities of life. Young & old, male & female, dogs & cats, all without power, heat, food & comfort.

Long Beach, Long Island, New York – NYT

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These images scare me, sadden me, and frustrate me. I feel like I can’t do enough for these people.

Please get over the politics of this. I really don’t care if the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Chrisie, is a Republican, Democrat, Communist or a member of the Green Party. If he does his job, and praises the President for doing his, what difference does it make? Who cares if Governor Cuomo of NYS is a Democrat and he’s working with Senator Kemp Hannon, a Republican from Long Island, to help people? Isn’t that what politicians are supposed to do!? Aren’t we ALL supposed to do that? Work together, I mean. If you’re helping out, I don’t care who or what you are. If you’ve got a spare set of hands, some extra clothes or food to give, or some money you can donate, then you’re good in my book. Parties & politics don’t enter into this shit any more than race or gender does. When babies are hungry, aren’t we all just here to help?

All I ask is that you care about your fellow man, no matter where they live. If you gave for Katrina, if you gave for the tsunami, if you gave for the earthquake in Japan… then please give now. 40,000 people in New York State alone are homeless after this. That’s just New York. That doesn’t count New Jersey and any other states that got hit with enough force to ruin homes or make them unlivable. There are over 900,000 homes & businesses without power STILL in New Jersey alone. In New York, OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE still have no power. Long Beach is under 3-5 feet of sand. The Rockaways are a mess. The Jersey Shore basically is no more. This is not a joke, this is a major emergency. This is literally a disaster area. There is no room for misunderstanding or underestimating the magnitude of this. This storm was NOT just a tropical storm. It was a monster storm, a once in a 100-years storm. There was no way to prepare…. we just have to work on fixing what’s broken, and not with words. With actions, money, food, and clothes. If you can help out, then help out. But basically lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

Island Park, Long Island, New York – Dayna Arrigali (local resident)

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You can make donations at the following websites to help feed & clothe people in need:

Red Cross – redcross.org

Island Harvest – islandharvest.org

The Bowery Mission – bowery.org

Occupy Sandy Relief NYC – interoccupy.net/occupysandy

 Also accepting donations: NEW YORK POLICE DISASTER RELIEF FUND, 233 BROADWAY, SUITE 1801, NY 10279

If you live in the area, you can also make in-person donations for personal items such as batteries or even non-perishable food items at Island Harvest on Long Island. I also have the address of a church in Staten Island accepting donations of just about anything. There are many other places, but too much information to list. If anyone needs more information, e-mail me & I’ll put you in contact with the right people. And thank you.

I’m sitting here waiting for Hurricane Sandy to wreak havoc on my life, so what else is there to do? Besides, my first one went over so well, I decided I’d post something else that I ripped off from Pinterest. ‘Ripped off’ is a bad way of putting it, really, because isn’t the idea of Pinterest to ‘pin’ ideas & then do them? Either way that’s what folks do. Some of them probably don’t even give credit where it’s due, which is bad. Very bad. But I always credit people who inspire me… so thank you (in advance of me going any further about this project) to the blog that put the fire in my pants to create. Although this idea can be found all over the web, that’s the post that I used as my guide.

Pinterest Project #2 is an idea I had seen around the internet for some time on various blogs & websites. I’d even seen it on craft blogs. But I never really wanted to do it until I saw it on Pinterest 3 times in one day, via 3 different blogs/websites. Then I took it as a sign: Jesus wants you to do this.*

The basic idea is this: get a Sharpie, get a blank white mug from the Dollar Store, draw on the mug, bake it at 350° for 30 minutes, let it cool and then ta-da! Personalized mug (hand wash only!). Except I didn’t want to do mugs. I have enough mugs. I have a mug with Wyatt Earp on it, an initial mug from Anthropologie with a big ‘M’ on it, a mug from Cracker Barrel, a Kerr mason jar mug, a Starbucks mug, a Dunkin’ Donuts mug, a fancy black /white/green mug that says ‘Adventure Queen’ with a crown and a brightly colored one that declares I LOVE CUPCAKES (with a matching plate, mind you). That’s not to say I’m anti-new mugs. I love buying cute new mugs or novelty touristy ones. I just do not need to draw my own mug.

Have I said ‘mug’ enough? Sheesh.

I decided I wanted to draw on plates. And boy did I ever.

I have a lot of Sharpies.** Many of ‘em are duplicate colors but the points don’t stay “fine” very long when you use them a lot, so it’s necessary. I do need some lighter pastel colors though.

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I bought a ton of white dollar store appetizer plates and went to town. I did some awesome insect plates (like these, but cooler). You can see my “Cupcake Rehab” themed one here. I also did a 4-piece set of Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, his bride, the Phantom of the Opera and Dracula. This one is my most recent attempt:

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People see these & say, “Are you fucking kidding me?” But in all honesty, I can’t stress enough that it’s easy to do. Look, I’m an artist, I went to school for it. I draw. That’s what I do. In any form or medium. But you don’t have to be an artist! Kids would love to do this, maybe for a party favor? Or a rainy day project? Then you can have a plate with their drawings on it forever. And even adults love this; I can’t tell you how many people went out & bought plates & Sharpies after seeing what I did. It’s just a cute novelty idea. And it’s a ton of fun. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.

To erase the Sharpie, just use a slightly wet paper towel (or Q-tip) and rub hard on the area, or if that doesn’t work, use rubbing alcohol. Then dry the area off, wait a few minutes, and draw again. DO NOT WASH THESE IN THE DISHWASHER. Everything will come off. Gentle hand-washing is best, if you abso-fucking-lutely must. You could probably also use gold or silver Sharpies on black or other color plates just as easily, but I never tried it myself.

All in all, I’d say if you aren’t going to use them, if you’re just going to display them, it’s a better idea. I wouldn’t use mine (except maybe for blog photos) for food at all, and like I said: I wouldn’t wash ‘em unless I absolutely had to. I might use them for “dry” food, such as crackers or cookies, but not only is there a chance it’ll come off, Sharpies are just not safe for being ingested… and that’s a huge possibility with wet foods. I like using them as photo props or decorative plates; I keep my keys & rings & stuff on that Day of the Dead one. The others just look cute.

So exercise your inner artist! It’s a cheap, fun project to do. You never know, you might end up with something so awesome you’ll want to hang it on your wall.

*Kidding. It was totally Buddha that wanted me to draw on plates.

** Sharpie compensated me IN NO WAY for this post, and I purchased all the supplies myself.

By now, most people are aware of Mad Men. If they aren’t obsessed with it, then they at least watch it, and if they don’t watch it (blasphemy!) then they know it exists. But just in case you live under a rock: Mad Men is a television show on AMC based on the “Mad Men” of the 1960′s- a name given to the ad men on Madison Avenue. It’s incredibly funny & dark, and also misogynist, and racist, but then again, this is the early-mid ’60′s. The civil rights movement wasn’t more than just that- a movement, women basically had no rights either, and white rich men ruled everything (not quite sure how things have changed, actually…). The lead character is the ever-dapper & supremely dreamy (albeit sexist, a bit of a dick & not the best father) Don Draper, played excellently by Jon Hamm. Aside from despising his ex-wife Betty & wishing she would just disappear for most of the seasons, I live for any scene he’s in. He’s got a dry sense of humor and some of the best one-liners on the show. If I was a guy, I’d wanna be Don Draper, for sure. Or at least a mix of him & Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt’s character) from Ocean’s Eleven.

What? I’m an asshole. I’d make a great Don Draper.

Anyway, occasionally, his one-liners or little monologues are so good they’re worth jotting down. And sometimes, even living by. So that’s what this is… the wisdom of Don Draper, or Dick Whittman (watch the show, people, watch the freakin’ show). Just a small collection of quotes I like, or find to be food for thought.

“Mourning is just extended self-pity.”

“People tell you who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.”

“You want some respect? Go out there and get it for yourself. “

“It’s your life. You don’t know how long it’s gonna last, but you know it doesn’t end well. You’ve gotta move forward… as soon as you can figure out what that means. “

“If you don’t like the conversation, change it.”

“It wasn’t a lie, it was ineptitude with insufficient cover.”

“People may see things differently, but they don’t really want to.”

“Now that I can finally understand you, I am less impressed with what you have to say.”

“Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound.” It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards… it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel, it’s called the carousel. It let’s us travel the way a child travels – around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know are loved.”

“I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie, there is no system, the universe is indifferent.”

“[And]… You know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.”

Justin Timberlake married his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Biel this past Friday, October 19, 2012, in the Southern part of Italy.

People Magazine was the first to announce the marriage on their website and will have all the details of the wedding along with the first pictures in their upcoming issue this week.

According to US Weekly,  this is how it all went down:

October 5: With just two weeks to go until her destination  wedding, bride-to-be Biel tells E! News she’s “cool as a cucumber”  about planning her walk down the aisle.

October 8: As her stylist Estee Stanley put the finishing  touches on her big day look, Biel was spotted in Paris at the Elie Saab bridal  boutique. “She was radiant and in a really good mood!” notes a witness.

October 10: Biel flies to Rome’s Majestic hotel en route to  her Italian nuptials.

October 16: Kicking off their week-long wedding festivities  on Tuesday, the couple flew some of their guests — including music producer Timbaland — into Germany, then whisked them to an  undisclosed Italian location on private jets.

October 18: The night before Timberlake and Biel’s nuptials,  the couple mingled with causally dressed celeb pals including Andy  Samberg, Biel’s 7th Heaven costar Beverley  Mitchell and music manager Johnny Wright during an outdoor cocktail reception. During the Cala Masciola  beachfront bash, guests watched a 10-minute fireworks display; they returned to  their hotel one hour later.

October 19, 7:30 p.m. local time: When the couple were  introduced as husband and wife in the hotel’s chapel, attendees cheered loudly.  As the newlyweds left the chapel, walking down a grand staircase, they were  showered with small, white, heart-shaped flower petals. Following the exchanging  of vows, ceremony guests sipped on Bellavista Franciacorta wine during a  reception held in the main piazza beside the church.

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/justin-timberlake-jessica-biels-wedding-week-a-timeline-of-events-20122110#ixzz29zoaQ85F

Being a huge fan of Timberlake, I shed a little tear as its not the same to fawn over him being a hot bachelor but I’m sure I speak for all the women around the world and wish him nothing but happiness with his new wife.