All kinds of beautiful

Admission

I just hate-read an entire series. I generally don't waste my time with books I don't like. Buuuut I read all three Divergent books in two months. They were so crazy bad. The dystopia was super simplistic; the two leads so pure. Most crazy making was the tone - varying from sending folks to their doom to giggly teenagerness in a single scene. WTF? It was just so batshit and I had to see where it was gonna wind up. It did not redeem itself.

When I stood in line for love

I do so much like this song, and it's only a little because of my recent Hunger Games obsession flare up.

Antidote

This gorgeous documentary about a couple hiking the wilderness for a year is the perfect antidote for holiday craziness: The River of No Return

Kinda obsessed

With the podcast Call Your Girlfriend.

Lately I've been craving more

Obsessed with this song lately.

Vermin

My neighborhood has had a rat problem over the last year. The city cut the program that deals with rodent infestations, and surprise surprise, the little buggers made a comeback. I live in the city. Rats are not totally unexpected but I have yet to see one in my 5 years of living here. Two weeks ago, my neighbor found a dead rat on her driveway. Panic ensued! She called the city to send an inspector out & I gave permission to have my yard looked at as well. Nothing was found. Then a few days later, she found another almost dead rat. Inspector called again. I LOVE my neighbor and totally understand that she's freaked over this. But I also get that she's casting glances over the fence & thinking this is all my fault. She shot me an email about the problem and her panic and listed all the things she does to not attract rodents - all things that I happen to fail at: - She doesn't grow a vegetable garden. - She does not compost. - She picks up her dog poo every single day. (I'm regular but with short days, I don't try picking up poo in the dark.) She left a flyer from the city about how to make your compost pile rodent proof. I'm sure all the tips would work but it would also make my composter into not a composter. Totally enclosed, not touching the earth, apparently just a container for veggie scraps. Sighhhhhhhh. I compost responsibly. I did my research and avoid things that draw rodents. All my eggshells are thoroughly rinsed. A few summers ago she was convinced that I was the cause of our mosquito issues because I have a rain barrel - one I treat religiously to avoid mosquitoes. It was so satisfying at the end of summer when she found out that the breeding ground was her gutters. Anyway, in the world of neighbor drama, this is minor. But a bit frustrating to be honest. The rodents have likely been scared up by all the road work happening in the area. They are replacing all the curbs along the intersections. Hopefully once they are done, the panic will die down.

Lalla

Ain't nothing like your family

Broken

The United States has a prison system that is very very broken. http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/30/15761/prison-bankers-cash-captive-customers

So lovely

Mina Tindle - Taranta

My people

My People - Langston Hughes
Dream-singers,Story-tellers,Dancers,Loud laughters in the hands of Fate--
Elevator-boys,
Ladies' maids,
Crap-shooters,
Cooks,
Waiters,
Jazzers,
Nurses of babies,
Loaders of ships,
Rounders,
Number writers,
Comedians in vaudeville
And band-men in circuses--
Dream-singers all, --
My People.
Story-tellers all,--
My people.
Dancers--
God! What dancers!
Singers--
God! What singers!
Singers and Dancers
Dancers and laughters
Laughters?
Yes, laughters...laughters...laughters--
Loud-mouthed laughters in the hands
Of fate.

Obsessed AND creeped

#Iwatchalotofkidstvthesedays Also Amy Sedaris!

On bimulous nights

I recently purchased a book I'm not gonna let my kiddo touch for years.  I'm a bad mom.

However, this book is out of print and magic.  It includes bits like:

Because on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace, the trees eucalyptus back and forth, forth and back, swishing and swaying, swaying and swishing - in the fern-deep grove at the midnight end of the garden.

Maybe I got this book for me, but I shall definitely share it with the babe one of these days.

Ahem - spammity spam!

I made this spam dish the other night and my kiddo hoovered it the fuck up.  I'm not sure I'll make it again soon (maybe for a party?), but another spam dish will likely be on the horizon.  I can't believe I let myself forget its deliciousness.

The purge

The article Throw Everything Out made me laugh.  I CONSTANTLY have a get out of the house collection.   Currently, I have a bag of kid clothes on the table for an expectant friend, another bag for VOA (Volunteers of America), and at least two janky items in my truck for the next e-recycling event.  This is on top of my recycling bins on the back porch, a compost pile behind the garage, and a couple of freecycle items on the porch.

I've always been someone who gets rid of stuff.  It drove my ex crazy.  I grew up in a trailer with two parents, three siblings, FIVE dogs, and at least one indoor cat.  I need space and very little clutter.  

I read voraciously but I don't have a house full of books.  For one, I can't afford my habit.  And any book I own or am gifted, gets read and handed to the next reader.  (Maybe not every book - but only about one out of a hundred gets kept - and mostly those are ones I want me kid to love and scribble on and sleep with).  It helps to live in a city with the top library system in the country!

I donate to the local thrift shop AT LEAST once a week and am constantly dispersing stuff to the world.  I want a pretty, interesting, and very me home and I am likely better at the edit than I am about aquisition.  Maybe by the time I'm 90, it'll be in good shape.

popcorn and chaos

Sooooo I am completely and totally obsessed with Skinny Pop popcorn.  It is sooooo fucking good and it shouldn't be because its just bagged popcorn with a terrible name.  But it still is delicious!

I purchased a bag of their hatch green chile pepper flavored popcorn the other night to give it a try.  I love this popcorn and I love hot pepper stuff so it should be great, right?  Not so much actually.

But this is in fact a good thing.  My almost two year old child, ate a bit of it and then promptly turned the bag upside down - dumping it all over my living room floor.  And then he danced in it.  A happy little soft shoe-style dance.

Toddlers are total agents of chaos.

The truth

I had not even heard of this one when a coworker mentioned it and lent me her copy.  The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains is a creepy quick illustrated tale.  Fairy tale-ish.  I liked it a great deal - the protaganist is so interesting.  In the interest of being a non-spolier, I won't say what my gripe is, but the tale turns on it and it just seems so unlikely.  Which is a shame because the rest is sooooo creepy and thoughtful.  

The rhino!

This video made me lose my breath from laughing.





(Note to self- a gym membership miiiiiight be a good thing to consider.)

Must not be related

I made this panzanella recipe (sans capers or sweet peppers), and it was soooooo good that I ate way too much standing over the stove.

I then invited my brothers over for to-go boxes.  Despite the fact that they both live less than a quarter mile away, neither came.  There is something wrong with the Y chromosome in my family obviously.

Washed-up

This Onion article makes me laugh really hard.

Rainbow Bright's house

I recently read a book that described the main character's house as the kind of place Rainbow Bright would live.  That is my house exactly.  Colors make me happy.  So I was enamored of the book Bright Bazaar.  And even happier to find that the author had a blog.

So many pretty ideas!

Hard to ignore

I want just about everything in this shop, but mostly this:

My life needs more fun and hard to ignore accessories.

Family dynamics

Watched About Time the other day.  Went into it expecting a fun romance.  And it had that.

But the real heart of it is the family dynamics.  Father, son, sister, mother.  It's really touching.  (And this despite a male lead actor who reminds me a great deal of someone who gives me skeevy vibes.

I quibble a bit when I thought the film broke its own rules.  Also Rachel McAdams is just never my favorite romantic lead either.

Sweetness and hurt

Been a long time since a book made me read looooong past bedtime, but I really wanted to stay with Georgie from Landline.  I went into this book cold - I knew that Rainbow Rowell could write a good tale but I didn't know what the story would be here.  You should too!

Some parts of this story sucker punched me.  It considers the beginnings of a relationship and contrasts it with a couple who has been together forever.  She knows.  And that can be hard to read for someone still looking hard at a failed relationship.  All that fucking time and effort and failure and pain that came out of so much excitement and love and plans and hardwork.  Sigh.

I really really liked this book despite the gut punches it landed.

Old school glamour

In a wee little town south of me, in a tiny museum I'd never heard of, and Edith Head exhibit was put on.  I did not even hear of it until a week before it closed (and this was after a one week extension!)

The clothes!  The detail!  The videos of golden age stars like Veronica Lake wearing the garment you're seeing in detail!  It was a pretty stunning exhibition.  The garment above was by far my favorite.

The show is gone now, but I'm keeping a closer eye on that tiny museum.

So fucking marvelous

I saw Lyle Lovett and his Large Band in concert a few weeks ago with 4 new-ish friends.  We drank beer, we danced, we sang.  It was a fucking spectacular night.

He sang this song.  Which I love.  But which also kills me.  But I love.

Drinkin'

Holy fuck, do I love this song.

Sometimes you need to wait a few years

I am a sucker for a memoir about someone going for their dreams - especially if it involves food, farming, or travel.  This book involved all three - and I really didn't like it.  <fizzle>

Barnheart is about a woman who moved to Vermont and starts a farm of her own.  I wanted to root for her, but I just ended up frustrated.  It could have used WAY more perspective and editing.

The primary aggravation was her judginess of her neighbors.  She gets so bent out of shape about folks who don't live there all the time or farm their lands.  But when neighbors start questioning some of her choices, it's so breathlessly indignant.

I could really relate to the longing she talked about - to already be living the life she wanted, to find a partner, to be doing things she so wanted to do.  But she lost me too many times with the smugness.

Seriously, I think she should have waited a few years before putting this one out there.  It might have given her a better point of view.

What's beautiful is broken

Horns

My walls need this print.

Paletas

This book is goooooorgeous!  And it guided me in making some delicious sour cream & cherry tequila paletas.  So many more I plan on trying.

Char your cabbages!

This recipe was delicious - grilled skirt steak with cabbage & scallions.

Extra arms

I read A Guide to Being Born several weeks ago, but it's effect is lingering. The author takes you down odd roads.

One of my favorite stories tells of a version of reality where you grow an extra arm when you fall in love and considers the difficulties of having such an obvious sign of your emotions. It's fantastic.

Another story "Poppyseed" about parents making decisions for their severely developmentally delayed daughter gutted me.

This is gonna float in my head for a good long while.

Apt message

I think I need this shirt from Book Riot.

Seating

My living room is home to a sad putty-colored microfiber sectional. Useful in a home with pets and a toddler? Certainly. Stylish and covetable? Notsomuch. Spotted these two pieces of furniture and lurve them. Maybe one day I can buy furniture based on style and not so much cleaning ease and cost.

Land of Nod

Mary Lynn O'Shea

Gotta love a doc

Paste Magazine lists 50 top notch documentaries available to stream on netflix. Lots of good picks on there! 20 Feet from Stardom, the Up series, Senna, etc.

If I had a pony

Makes me thinnk of my friend, 4 year old Georgia, who already has a pony and a cowboy (her riding instructor.)

Some say love

God she's good

Take a listen to Lydia Loveless. The best thing to come outta my hometown maybe ever. Tiny Desk Concert

Strange new world

I have re-entered the world of dating which for me means learning about dating in the world of texting, social media and online dating sites. I'm trying to see myself as Dian Fossey. I study the dudes and then bring my knowledge back to all my married friends.

 1. First dude - I should never have gone out with. Spent the whole time making innuendos and totally with an end game in mind that I'd told him from the get go was not gonna happen. Poor disappointed Vince kept texting and eventually shot me an article on the joys of being a slut. That was his hail mary - seriously. Every now and then I still get a text from good old Vince.

2. Second dude was a total gentleman and really awesome. Wish I'd waited to go out with him until I was feeling more sure of myself, but very happy I met a really awesome dude post-skeevy Vince to make me feel like dating wasn't the worst thing in the world.

 3. Third dude was so excited that we were going out that he texted me about 40 times the night before our date. I was floored and dismayed by the enthusiasm. The moment we met though, I could tell I didn't meet up with his enthusiastic expectations. Which was good as I sat through the most boring mansplainy dinner of my life.

4. Fourth dude had our life planned entirely out before the second drink. Also managed to quiz me about what prescriptions I was on (none).

Need to find a way to increase the plans with numero twos in my life and decrease the disappointers.  I've recently set these rules for online dating selection:

1. No dudes who will date 15 years younger but not a single year older.

2. No more dudes who have no car. Generally I don't give a shit but public transport sucks in this city. I don't want to be held captive to one general area or only go on dates with super sweaty dudes.

3. Bad tattoos. Thank goodness for the owners of such bad tattoos who choose to show them off via profile. There are some tattoo artist's out there who need intervened upon.

4. If you say anything about snuggling in your profile, I roll my eyes at you immediately. I've been on some good dates since these first four. Nothing amazing yet, but not dating would make me feel hopeless.

Soooooo good

Via Lu

Pickled

This recipe is delicious.  A coworker made me some and I am officially obsessed.

Pickled Mustard Greens

Fresh blank page

So I've had more than one blog in my past, but circumstances led me to need a new home for my thoughts.  I  gave up blogging for a year and a half while life changed a great deal.  I missed writing though!  I love to share various prettiness and interesting finds and experiences.

And while it feels a bit goofy to shuck off all my old posts and start again, some days you need a fresh page.

Things you're likely to see here - thoughts on lots of books and movies and songs, links to a mad lot of things, personal inspiration for my home, garden & wardrobe, musings about life as I know it, and random other bits.

I'm a recently single (as of now) thirty-something mum of an amazing little toddler living in Columbus, Ohio. Hello there.