My Pear-y Christmas

 

This Christmas my family surprised me with some of my gifts. It seems I have an affinity for all things pear right now, and my family picked right up on it. Check out these sweets treats they bestowed upon me!

This fabulous clock from Etsy seller, KitchenTableVintage.

Now my challenge is to find a place to hang it!

Three of these precious ornaments from Etsy seller, Defabricate.

I can't wait to hang these on my tree next Christmas!

This amazing timer from ModCloth.

Technically, this was an early birthday* present.

I can't wait to add to my pear collection now, and the color works perfectly with my dream kitchen color scheme!

(*10 days away)

I can die a happy person.

The other day, one of my longtime dreams came true.

That's right, I visited an Anthropologie store for the first time (and I will be back, oh yes, I will). It felt like I had stepped through my laptop, into the magic of their website. I told the G-Man , as we walked through the doors,  "If I had a lot of money, I would live in their catalog." (oh yes, I made him come too, considered it payback for the gun show trip. Which back fired on me because he actually enjoyed it.)

It felt like I was coming home. Never before have I stepped into a store and felt less stressed and more relaxed. I wanted to melt into the floor and become one with the merchandise. It was surreal. All of my old favorites were there. And they were more colorful, luxurious and gorgeous than I could have ever imagined.

Laelia was there, and she was everything I envisioned she would be. Bold and bright. Comfy and puffy. One of these days she will share my bed with me. Oh yes, she will. We'll spend lazy Sunday mornings together, drink coffee together and share magical, fantasy-filled dreams together. Gone will be my nights of insomnia. Gone will be my nightmares. With Laelia by my side, wrapping me in snuggly sunshine, nothing bad could ever happen.

 Octopus and Seahorse were there, ready to liven up my bland, everyday tap water. More colorful and vibrant in person, they whispered underwater secrets to me and asked me to imagine our lives together, swinging on a hammock in the summer sun while sipping lemonade and reading care-free, guilty pleasure, summertime novels.

Astrid was there in all her red-orange glory. She spoke of afternoon tea and cookies. She invited me to pull out my sketchbook, get comfy and sketch the day away. She showed me a world of cozy throw blankets and glasses of wine enjoyed by the light of the fireplace.

And of course, Zinnia, Entomology and Spinning Globe were there. They had my wheels spinning, imagining reclaimed, refinished furniture and brightly lit living spaces. We spoke of sandpaper and vintage paper drawer liners.

And don't even get me started on the clothing. How 'bout you? Have you ever met your wish list in person before?

I wasn't going to blog today, but...

    

I needed to tell you about this. Remember back when, when I told you about Out of Print? And remember how I told you about how great their customer service is? I mean, really, it is. And remember how I had ordered a shirt and was concerned about receiving it before I moved? Yeah, well Jeff was able to get it to me THE DAY BEFORE I moved. How awesome is that?

Any ways, I wanted to inform you all that there is a giveaway for Out of Print tees happening at Sweeps4Bloggers, and there are about a million different ways you can earn bonus entries. I'm pretty positive I have no chance of winning another tee, since there are a gazillion people entered, but I had to share, because, as I previously mentioned, I love Out of Print. Any company that has such phenomenal customer service and contributes to charity deserves to be talked about. A lot. 

Oh, and here's a bonus, (I was going to save this for Random Shit Tuesday, but I'll share it here too), a pic of me in my tee. You're welcome.

I love the strategically placed sun, but we'll discuss that more on Tuesday.

I ♥ Etsy, The 'Shroom Edition

       

So, as some of you may know, I ♥ Etsy. True story.

Now, unless you've been living under a rock (or maybe a toadstool), then you've noticed that mushrooms are making a comeback. Therefore, I present to you...

I ♥ Etsy, the 'Shrooms.

1. craftsty  2. PrettyMyDrink  3. beggarsandchoosers  

4. nerdnook  5. LennyMud  6. HeyFriends  

7. CritterJitters  8. thegroove  9. MayoMayhem

And I think these salt and pepper shakers would be perfect in my dream kitchen!

thefunnybunny

"I see you've met the squirrel people."

Christopher Moore is, by far, one of my favorite authors. The first book of his that I read, and to this day is still my favorite, was A Dirty Job. As much as I would like to go on and on about how awesome this book is, I really don't want to. Seriously though, if you're not familiar, click here. I'll wait for you to catch up.

Ready? All right. Now that you're familiar, I must say that the first time I read this book the Squirrel People scared the shit out of me. I mean, we're talking reanimated, patched together, costumed, dead animals here. That's just downright creepy. Of course, as I reread the book and reread it again (I tend to do that a lot) I came to view the Squirrel People with sympathy and felt that I vastly misunderstood them. Poor things.

The last time I reread A Dirty Job, I actually read the Author's Note and Acknowledgments section of the book and discovered that Moore was inspired by the art work of Monique Montil when he wrote about the Squirrel People. Here's what Monique has to say for herself (click to enlarge):

(Source)

Just for fun, I thought I'd share with you some of my... um... favorites:

(From top to bottom, left to right: Sir Henry Beaver, Raccoon Fop, Demon, Victorian Alligator, Medieval Skunk, Elizabethan Alligator)

Great, right? Although I can't say that I would ever want one of these creatures for keepsies, but I have to tell you, this is pretty much exactly how I pictured the Squirrel people to look while reading A Dirty Job.

And the test results are in...

What character from "A Dirty Job" are you? Minty Fresh You like to hang in the Backround, and stay calm. You may not like your jobs or responsiblity, but you do them anyway

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

My Graduation Gift Wish List

(I know I've been talking about this a lot lately, but really, it's all I've got going on right now, so just deal. Okay? I promise, when something else more fun and exciting happens in my life, I will blah blah blah about that instead. Until then, well, here...)

Did you know I'm graduating? From grad school? With my Masters? I am! Did you know I'm graduating TODAY!? Totally am. For your convenience, I have compiled this handy-dandy Graduation Gift Wish List, organized by type of gift giver (that would be you). You can email me for my mailing address.

From the unemployed/independent artist/stay-at-home mommy/cheap bastard (< $25)

1. Gnome 6x6 print 2. Mustache Rocks Glass 3. Robot Love Necklace 4. Blossoms from Bullets Scoop Neck 5. Secret Garden Flower Abstract Art Customizable Laptop Skin 6. Light Blue with Mottled Brown Beaded Earrings

From the part-time employed/housemate/teacher/liquor store clerk/best friend (< $50)

1. Set in Stone, Moss Ring 2. Cotton Wrap with White Birds Print 3. Bare Branch Blues and Rose Bud 4. Roots - Leather Journal 5. Dala Horse Tee 6. oooOo
UPDATE: #1, #4 and #5 have since sold, but the shops have many other really cool items, so be sure to check them out!

From the full-time employed/the secret admirer/the rich great-aunt (< $150)

1. UPCYCLED Blue VINTAGE Train Case 2. Pie Shop, 8x8 Metallic Print 3. Square Ivory Wood 4. Garden Gate Locket - Pearl, Flower, Bird 5. Asymmetrical Hoodie 6. Original Painting Bound
UPDATE: #5 has since sold, but the shop has many other really cool items, so be sure to check it out!  

From the independently wealthy/the sugar daddy/my stalkers (> $150)

1. no. 2 (tales) 2. Orchid Necklace 3. Tomalinson chairs 4. Signature Couture Halter Dress

So, there you have it. My Graduation Gift Wish List. If you're torn on what to get me, now would probably be an appropriate time to mention that you neglected to get me a birthday present... I didn't want to say anything, but since we're on the topic, I thought I should.

(Don't worry, I don't actually expect anything. I'm not even walking. I'm probably going to be spending the day by myself too. I am such a loser right now.)