The Usual Archive

We’re entering the holiday season, which means it’s time to start shopping for the geeks in your life. But what do you buy the geek that has everything? That’s where we come in. For the next six weeks “5 on Friday” is going to come to you in a gift guide format.

Nicole and I spent a lot of time over the weekend talking about the internet explosion over marriage. Who is it for? You, your spouse… hypothetical children… families…. cats, dogs, fish, reptiallian friends? The debate goes on, and as Nicole brought up, it’s a good thing. Open and honest conversation leads to

When I wrote my post on tropes in romance novels, I promises you I was working on a list of alternatives to 50 Shades of Grey. Well dear readers, that day has come. I’ve read bad novel after bad novel, treadging through to find only the books I felt warranted being listed on Pure Geekery.

Etsy is being flooded with indie polish, handmade polish made by individuals. Most of the polish collections are designed around a certain theme, and are free of the most harmful chemicals. I haven’t tried any of these indie polish collections myself (I am not good about nail polish, it’s a little embarrassing).

Things are getting hectic in the world of Claire and Nicole. Claire can’t see over her schoolwork, she’s trying to plan her wedding, and oh yeah be a parent. I’m listing my house for sell, which is a project the likes of which I’ve never tackled. Which of course means I’m blogging

I have a deep dark, pop-culture guilty pleasure: I love wedding shows. Bridezillas, Say Yes to the Dress, Four Weddings- if it’s on Bravo or TLC, I probably watch it. I see as grown up Disney movies- completely unrealistic for those of use who think spending $100,000 on a party is insane,

I’m a believer in the great american road trip. Piling in a car with friends or family or the Griswolds and trekking across these great United States. Granted this can be a little more restrictive these days, but after taking some time to stop in the Smokies this weekend, I can say

Halloween is only three short weeks away, and it’s time to get costuming! If your local Halloween store is like mine, costumes are expensive and poorly made. Not really something I want to spend my money on. Plus, you may show up at the party in the same costume as someone else!

There’s a lot of frustration in the air these days. From politics to our own friends and family, the drama meter has been turned up to maximum and it’s driving me crazy. Though I haven’t posted about it in a while, I’ve been working hard on my happiness project, and all of the

When iOS7 was first released last week, my initial thought was “Gah! Fisher-Price has taken over my iPhone.” Everything became rounded, soft, and because of my wallpaper, pastel. There were good updates, and bad updates to the iPhone with iOS7. Here are both, plus how to improve your experience, as seen from