cute.

{found this here, DIY instructions over here}

This is Awesome.

keep calm and carry on

{photo found here}

I'm in a sad sort of waiting game...
waiting for the tick tocks to catch up with me
waiting until there is no more time
nothing left for me to do
than go to class one
and go to class two
waiting until my fingers have given form to my ideas
and these papers are complete.

waiting for the bus and the train
tomorrow's inevitable rain...

Holidays are Sweet.

It is true, I love cupcakes and the holiday season. Both.

What makes the cupcakes and the holidays even better??
Well, this year, Neiman Marcus.
Despite their ridiculous prices, I love browsing through Neiman Marcus.
AND, because of their ridiculousness, I loooovvvvveeee browsing
the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog.

After all, where else do I come across crazy things like this:

Meet the customized 25 grand "Cupcake Car".

No Joke.

sweet house, sweeter treehouse.

{photo found here}

Wouldn't it be fun to live here...
Or to let your kids play here...
Talk about inspiring imagination!

Mac...

Used to be teeny-tiny.
I weighed him on Friday.
He's now 16.8 pounds.
C'est la vie.

a special delivery dissected!

I finally got around to unpacking some of my stamp boxes! I didn't have a lot of time to get really re-acquainted with the collection but I did flip through some of the books and snap a couple of quick photos.

Just to get an idea of the magnitude of the collection...

the giant boxes and some of the guts...

Here are a few of my favorites:

hotness.

I have beautiful friends, it's true.

mixed messages and why I am so great

How cute is {this}?

Leading question, I know.

I figure there are three basic types of people:
1. those that read {this}, giggle, and badly want kids of their own
2. those that read {this}, release a sigh of relief, and feel grateful to either
a. not have kids or b. have kids of a different age
3. those that read {this} with absolute indifference.

Can you guess which one I am?

BTW: The "I am the Best!" sign is my favorite!
It reminds me of Nietzsche (pinning me, undeniably, a college student).

Narcissistic Pickle Tycoons, Bioslavery, and John Moore's Spleen

This is what I'm thinking about, once again. Actually, the narcissistic pickle tycoon is new to me, grâce à Priscilla Wald, but I've been mulling over the general question of bodily ownership for a while now. Do you own your body? Legally no. But, legally no one else is supposed to either. Our bodies are in a perpetual legal limbo - - the swampy fringes of our code of law.

I've got to gather my thoughts quickly on the rights of individuals' to their own bodies - - our husky shells down to the littlest bits of our genetic code. If I were a justice on the California Supreme Court, what would my decision in the Moore case be? By Friday I'll have an answer.

don't get me started... not yet

Someday soon I will have a lot more to say about {this}.The mass agriculture, factory farming setup our country so cherishes is an absolute blight on our health, our natural environments, and the safety and quality of life of the workers and animals involved. It doesn't really matter where one's values and priorities lie, an irrefutable case against factory farming can be made to appeal to just about anyone actually willing to do the research or, even easier, listen to it. One of the things that I think is so sad about it all is that {this woman}, despite having an unusually aggressive response, is not an exception. So many people are harmed by the food industry every day. Ugg. Like I said, soon I will have much, much more to say both formally and informally (and hopefully a *little* more eloquently). But for now....

kidease

So... the idea behind these little lunches is really great.
And the images are really funny and cute.
But... well... is it just me or does "kidease" sound like an insult?

Kidease...Disease...

Kidease...Cooties...

The possibilities for other kids to mercilessly make fun of the lunch goer
innocently trying to "ease" their existence with a fun bite to eat...

I don't even want to think about it.

Two things.

1. These invitations are really, really cute. I {heart} them very much.


2. {This Blog} is amazing. I've been following Cannelle Vanille for several months and, again, all there is to say is that Aran is incredible.

Supercalafragalistexpialidociously so.

booksbooksbeautifulbooks

It is obvious, I'm sure, that my philosopher and I love books.
In a lot of ways, he probably loves them more than me
but at a certain point the minute differences are irrelevant.

Our home will always be brimming with bookshelves and piles of books
and we'll continue building a library for as long as we can.

I come by it honestly for sure.
Growing up I thought everyone had a living room
decorated with floor to ceiling bookshelves
stacked two or three rows thick.

As I got older I came to realize
that, in fact, not everyone loves to be surrounded by books.
Weird. To each her own, I suppose but I can never escape the feeling
that a spine-less home is cold and empty.

It is just so strange to see bookshelves with huge gaps of open space
a paperweight here, maybe a coffee table book there, a couple of picture frames...

However, despite my love of books - particularly beautiful hardcovers -
I have been trying to reconcile my desire to emulate this (with a twist)
with the guilt and sadness I feel in taking a razor to a masterpiece.

I suppose it is about artistic endeavors...
you have to break an egg to make an omelet...
and so on and so forth...

We'll see if I really have it in me to follow through with my plans
for these lovely, dusty hardcovers I found at the Still Waters book sale this year.

Create.A.Swap

I participated in a create-a-swap a few weeks back...
And I've finally gotten around to posting some photos.

The rules were simple:
Create three things
Send them to your partner
Receive three handmade things

Here is what I received:



Spectacular, no?!
Thanks Abby for the awesome gifts!
And thanks to Cara for organizing it all.

the imaginary tour continues

too white overall, but colors would sure pop in this kitchen

I love, love, love exposed brick and chandeliers!

bold colors, books, french double doors... lovely.


great, simple office to get things done...

simple storage

I love trunks and four poster beds -
those windows are spectacular too!


A library for our children and a big comfy chair.

reading room attic for grand adventures and imaginative escapes!

golden glen creamery

Holy Cow.
I've come across a most amazing local find: Golden Glen Creameries.
Not only is the creamery located in my general area,
and not only does their milk come in great glass bottles,
their regular prices are cheaper than most sale prices for other brands!

It is a win, win, win. Triple threat.
I'm absolutely psyched!

a day at the fair grounds

Having lived in the Seattle area for 5 years now
I've definitely been witness to a flood of rave reviews and hype
concerning the annual Puyallup Fair.
"DO THE PUYALLUP FAIR"

The philosopher, however, has never been one
to rally around the idea of us attending the fair.
Since he grew up in Puyallup, he's "done it" quite a bit.
It's just not his thing.

After five years of piqued interest though
I just couldn't refuse Christy's invitation to come along
and see the grand event with my own two eyes.
{and because the philosopher loves me so, he came along too}

The dahlias were very pretty - -
some had bushy heads the size of basketballs!!

And the rides were fun even if I only took one short adventure
along the rickety tracks of the roller coaster with Joe.
{I love, love, love roller coasters and amusement park rides!}

But the most bizarre thing to witness
were the many odd and unusual displays
of random collections, scrapbook pages, art, and preserved food.


I suppose I am a bit jaded...
but why exactly did this entry earn a special mention?


There were lots of impressive quilts to see
and various art exhibits.
I would have taken more photos
but was reprimanded by a volunteer.
So I'll just got a few sneaky photos from my phone
to remember the day by.

"Golden Dreams in Those Mountains"
by Aletha Deuel

by Mary Schessow-Schumaller

All in all, I'm glad we went.
The roller coaster ride was fun and
some of the crafts & art were really impressive.
But, I'll be okay not going again.

{all photos by me, on my little phone except for Robin Rice's beautiful print}

a new tradition...

Last night the philosopher and I got back from a quick little trip to Vancouver with L's mom, Christy. It was a lot of fun. We picnicked by a rose garden, ate interesting food and spent hours walking through Stanley Park admiring the gardens, interacting with the raccoons, looking at the trees, and talking.

The raccoons were very, very unnaturally social and absolutely adorable. They were so used to people feeding them peanuts and such that they would walk right up to you with their big eyes asking for food.

We also spent over four hours at the Vancouver aquarium looking at fish and watching the dolphins play. Oh, how I love dolphins! It was the first time, that any of us could think of, that we've been to an aquarium that wasn't solely focused on entertainment. There was a big social push for sustainability and alternatives with our fishing practices. It used to be that the aquariums went and caught their whales, dolphins, otters, sea lions, etc... But surprisingly, and sadly, most of their whales, dolphins, and sea lions were rescued.

...And then we walked and talked a little more.


{all photos by my philosopher or myself}

still dreaming of beautiful dresses...

like the short one on the left...

this unique soft and fluffy beauty...

this beaded show stopper...

this dramatic black and white number...

more soft and fluffy... with a twist on usual all white gowns

the lovely draped dress on the far right...

all of these... in different colors
but especially the long one on the right

the fantastic white dress on the far left...

and that gorgeous draped dress in the center...

all photos thanks to {casando ideas}