Succulents, Pt. 1

One thing my family has learned over the years is that by having (naughty) cats, we've given up our right to have any kind of living plants inside the house.
Except!
Succulents.
I know some kitties like to eat cacti still (like Dana's cat, Calvin), but ours thankfully don't. Plus my mom is so amazing with her decorating that she can make absolutely anything look fantastic in our house. Right now I feel a little bit like I'm living by Walden Pond (although I doubt Thoreau had any (faux) cacti over there on the East Coast).




"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her." - Wordsworth.

 

"Cats often betray the heart that loves them. Unless the heart has food." - Kelly




Happy Monday!

--Kelly

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Drum roll please....... (that's what this title is, by the way. Not "brr" like "oh brr I'm cold.")

Today marks the official launch of:
The Wind in the Willows, a collection!

Woo hoo! I just posted a tiny little introduction this morning and I'll be updating it as often as I can! So, people, get excited.

Side-note: my sister is getting a tattoo today, so get ready for some pictures of that later.

Have a fabulous Thursday!

The Wind in the Willows

I have an obsession with the Wind in the Willows, it's true.



I've had a project in the works for awhile for all of my Wind in the Willows books I've been collecting (and by "project," I mean "blog"). I've got a few different ideas floating around in my head for showcasing the different features of each book, and I'll be adding to it as I collect more copies! I figured this will also be a way for you to keep an eye on me to make sure I don't become a hoarder. Ha-ha that's a joke...kind of.

And I CAN'T emphasize enough that if you haven't read it yet, you need to! Look for the new blog coming soon (like...seriously...soon...super soon...)!

-Kelly

Hi, It's Raining!

A little morning rain-time for us.





Here's what I love about rain: everything



Here's what I hate about rain: people who drive like idiots. Seriously. It's not snowing or even hailing. Let's drive the speed limit, people.



Happy February Rain Day! --Kelly

I Spy Something...Red

This post is going to be pretty picture heavy...but you've been warned! Sorry if it takes forever to load. But let me tell you...I just love pomegranates too much to edit this. MMM delicious!! 

At work we had a parent who brought us some pomegranates fresh from their backyard tree! There is just nothing better than fresh fruit, especially as the seasons are changing; it makes everything feel and taste crisp. So I, of course, ate one at work (I shared!) and then brought one home to eat on my day off. 

We took a little field trip outside before I ate him. (Woops)

How cute is he? He reminds me of "Where the Wild Things Are" with his crown.



Have I mentioned how much I love Fall?




These look like hillbilly teeth and I probably laughed to myself for about 10 minutes over them. (And yes, I tried them on in the mirror. Who wouldn't, really?)



I ate about half the seeds, then mashed the rest up, put them in the freezer, and about an hour later took them out and mixed them up with some soy ice cream. Can I use the word delicious again without sounding redundant?


Also on my day off...
Remember my elephant tease?
This is the dress!! I'm so happy it's finally chilly enough to wear long sleeves! At least in the morning.


What? Blurry? No. That's totally your eyes.

I bought these shoes for my Dennis outfit and I LOVE them with dresses!! (Have you noticed how ecstatic I am today with all the "!!!"? That's what you get for working with kids all the time). I'm really enjoying mixing up mens/womens wear these days. 

How do you feel about mixing menswear and womenswear? 

What are your favorite ways of mixing them together?

So what's up next for Pastiche? More Dennis pictures, pictures of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (!!), bundles of cat pictures,  and updates on the Wind and the Willows collection. This is really becoming a problem. Or is it? 

You can never have too many books, right?

Ghost of Halloweens Past. WooOOOoo...

I love Halloween!! I absolutely love dressing up. I've never been one to go out and buy a pre-made costume, so one of my favorite activities is searching around the house trying to find something that I can transform into a costume. Even when I was little, my mom made me a bunny and princess costume (those are 2 separate costumes. Not a bunny princess). I tried to find the adorable bunny one but failed. Nevertheless, here's the princess costume:

My mom MADE that entire thing!! I look like a miniature Renaissance man. Just keep looking. You'll see it. I also look a little bit like Michael Palin.

I have no idea where this is, but it seems worthy of being added to this Halloween post. This is my dad about 20 years ago. He looks exactly the same. Minus the high-waisted jeans and poofy Tom Hanks hair.

This is my brother as a pirate back in 1992. Totally rocking the high-tops. If only kids were that stylish these days... 

Last year, I went as a Maneater, Dana was a child standing in Time Out in the corner, and Jenn studied and made us dinner. It was wild.

This year, I decided to go as Dennis from the Mickey Mouse club. "Why Dennis?" you ask. I have short hair, so naturally I need to be a boy. The only hitch is that I have Minnie Mouse - not Mickey Mouse - ears. How do I fix that? Be Dennis. The Mickey Mouse Club member who ended up coming out years later. Done.  

These are fuzzily iPad photos. Once I get some real ones, I'll upload those. Look how confused poor Ducky is. 

While searching for these photos, I found some absolutely outrageous photos that I need to upload later.

Until then...
What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you buy your costume or make it yourself? 

(Like the emphasis I added there? Subtle)

Haircut and a brief feminist rant

Well, I did it. I hacked my hair off. And to top it off, bleached the heck out of it. Thankfully I have the queen of all hairdressers at my disposal so she kept me from looking like an idiot. Mostly. Save the expression on my face here.

I've wanted to cut my hair off for years, and finally doing it has wound up being a pretty interesting social experiment. Here's what I've noticed:

1. Most women think it's adorable.

2. Some men find it adorable. 

3. The men who don't find it adorable I've discovered to be the ones who like their women silent in the kitchen without any kind of independence or self-confidence.

4. Those same men are unbelievably rude and apparently think it's ok for them to say whatever pops into their pea brains.

5. My haircut has magically empowered me to tell those same men without any hesitation that they are unequivocally wrong about me looking like a boy.

Honestly? I'm proud of myself. 

I tend to take the path where I mutter things to myself, but don't actually tell anyone when they're being rude.

So if you feel like being a jerk, take it elsewhere. Because I simply won't stand for it. 

I just imagined myself saying that Marlene Dietrich, standing tall and proud in a hazy bar, smoking out of the side of my bright red lipsticked mouth.

But what's really important here?

Ducky obviously still doesn't give 2 figs about me. At least that hasn't changed.