what's in the purrrrrse?

you read that title in brad pitt's seven voice, right?  because that's pretty much all i hear when someone asks me anything starting with "what's in the.."  i promise i don't have any heads in here though.

i've seen these posts since the dawn of time/blogging, and never done one.  but i'm remedying that fact tonight, and i can just imagine the cheering from the blogosphere.  (sounds just like crickets! *grin*)

ya'll know i like to keep it real,so these are all the items in my purse at the moment. no fair leaving all the cute things and putting the tampons to the side.  so now, i give you... my purse.  live and unadulterated...

thar she blows!

so yeah. i have a dumb phone which i use on the regular (can't afford the data fees on an iphone), an iphone (for music/photos/apps/wifi uses), and an itouch (an old one for extra music).  iphone earbuds which i only just realized a couple of months ago that i can control my music from, and it is awesome.

i also have about 37 lip products (ok, only 11) which multiply like rabbits as i tend to clear them all out then put them back one by one as i'm going off to work on any particular day.

pacifica lotion, perfume roll-on and solid perfume in tuscan blood orange, because yum and this is my winter/cold scent. perhaps some sharp eyes will note the clearance sticker on the lotion because $2 at marshall's will not be denied.

coupon case, wallet, checkbook (rent) and pen, harajuku lovers mini notebook (for my lists and musings) and harajuku lovers mirror.  the mirror is reflecting my pink puffed dots pajama pants.  i'm comfy like a baby!

drugstore, including pills, emergency tampons (i like the instead softcup, for the record), hair clip.

odds and ends include a guitar pick (not sure why i have that or where it came from), a penny that fell out of my wallet, and a clear button.  which i think came off my pants and work and i've yet to put back on.   gum which i am addicted too, but oddly mostly only at work. i frustrate chew. trident layers is the bomb, as we used to say in my day. i like the cherry/lime the best but this candy cane one is good too.

it would have been cute if my aligning their bottoms had actually done that.

my one guilty pop culture pleasure.

oh, and the purse is by roxy.  i'll have to remember to do a post about the other lives i would have led if i'd had multiple chances.  one of them is surfer girl. (i might have made mark go with me and my mom on my 22nd birthday to see blue crush.)

your turn!  what's in your purse?  (and no fair editing!)

world market "window" shopping

i saw some tasty jewelry at world market last week, and if i were a rich girl i'd have given my wallet a workout.  i don't think i'd ever fawned over the jewelry section there for quite as long.  i took one photo of something i liked, and then i ended up just keeping it out because i kept seeing more beautiful goodies.  i'm trying to save up and pay off at the moment, so i didn't get anything, but i was sorely tempted.

i love these wrap watches, and the spring sorbet colors.  they had a dark teal
one on clearance for half-price, but i just couldn't pull the trigger on that one.

this delicate linked ring is interesting.  but the only finger it fits on is (as ichie crane would say) "espoused to another."
and p.s. what can i use on my dry dry cuticles and dry finger tips???

if i'd bought anything it would probably have been this one.  i really like old brass patina, even if it's faked.

i just love coral and aqua/mint. i don't really have any chunky necklaces, but i could happily own any or all of these.

normally yellow would be my first choice, but this lemon drop-colored stone is just so pretty.

i make my own fun.

and now for a few extra-curricular photos:

this deer print scarf is dear. but i'd take out the stiff posable wire inside.

what a sweet bird ring or necklace holder.

i have a sort of love/scorn relationship with the mason jar popularity, but i do like this lamp base.

these tin containers were really reasonably priced (under $10?).  i would totally use these in the bathroom.

we don't have a bar (i drink liquor maybe up to 3 times a year, mark never, and have company about as often)
but i would totally use this deer head as kick-ass necklace display.

and for your convenience, i've linked to some of the above, or similar.

World Market Jewelry

week in review - january week 5

1.  looked at a lot of shoes online...

Shoe Blues

...to go with this dress:

Adrift on a Cloud Dress

2.  mark joined me for lunch one day...

... and we had panera.. yummers.  i've been ordering the fontina grilled cheese and tomato soup on the regular, but the sandwich needs a touch more flavor.  i usually salt it.  next time i go i'm going to see if the big kid grilled cheese is still on offer.. that one has bacon and a different mix of cheeses.  the soup is delicious and tastes almost like a tomato sauce with a hint of red pepper than your usual creamy soup.


3.  returned some stuff to target...

Minty

and re-bought them online during their 2-day 20% off sale.  hooray!

4.  discovered a new favorite on netflix:

he's kind of a genius. mark and i cracked up so many times watching this.  and with his neuroses, attitude, and ways of thinking, could be a long lost relative of either mark or me. or both.  (i don't think we're related, but you never know.)  i'm so glad we have more episodes to watch.


5. watched a cute movie...

...while writing this post.  i didn't expect it to be so cute and entertaining, but it was worth watching.  i'm a little confused about how they got away from the [spoiler], but i'm not gonna think too hard about a kid's movie.


6.  finished one book...

...and started another.

i've read the first maybe 7 or 8 times, but i think i've only read the second once.  which is nice for a change.  (i'm a voracious re-reader.. i like what i like.  and you can't always get to the library at 11 pm, you know?)


7. had my shoe size beliefs challenged..

i'm still not sure how i fit my size 10s into these blowfish size 7s, but it's cool.  they were on clearance for $5 and i almost bought them just on principle, but they really were too uncomfortable to wear for doing.. anything. 


8.  picked up some fun tweezerman harajuku lovers items..

i have some of the emery boards, but at $2 a pop it's hard not to take advantage and stock up.  (i also have some full-size ones, which i like, and some mini tweezers, which are amazing.  seriously.. tweezerman.. buy them.)

 9. observed wildlife in it's natural habitat...

(i did that vertical filming thing.. i'm sorry.  so shame. much apologies.)

wish i had had my real camera!

the median of a side street i commute home through.. this little guy (my mom studied ornithology and between that and the internet, we decided it's probably an immature cooper's hawk) didn't give two hoots i was filming him from the car 4 feet away.  (hoots.  haha.)  he was too busy picking at his (what i assumed were) varmint vittles.

10.  snow day
 

ugh.  i should have thought this list out better; i wouldn't have ended with this one.  i used to love snow.  being in so cal i'd only get it when i'd go to albuquerque for the xmas holidays or when we'd go up to big bear to ski.  now that i've had to live with it for a few years, i'm totally over it.  it's pretty when it's falling.  and i'm at home snugged up on the couch.  and that's about it. 

this was pretty much my drive into work.

i kid.. it wasn't too bad except on my street.  i slid a little going into work.  but i was a little annoyed that work didn't delay opening or at least let us wear jeans.  c'est la vie.

they're predicting more for next week.

i say no.


what did everyone else do this week?

a diatribe on hat-rassment

people, i like to wear hats when it's cold out.  i might even throw on a scarf and some gloves or mittens. that's not so strange, right?  i might have said, i like to eat food when i'm hungry.   but apparently the people in my office building think my hat-wearing is a very big deal.  i can't count the number of times i've gotten a side-eye or a comment about wearing a damn hat.  i've gotten comments both on the hats themselves and the very fact that i'm wearing anything on my head at all.

so, by now you're probably picturing something like this:

via

but that would be false.  (although i have to admit that this is pretty fabulous headgear. after i get done here i might be tempted to track it down on the interwebs.  i've sort of been teasing at work that i'm going to get a ski-mask and just be done with it.)

here's the sort of head covering i normally wear:

 

now what the heck is wrong with that? it's even got a matching scarf.  when do i ever match!  (the answer to that is not a bunch.)  see how i look so cute i thought i'd take a photo?  i pulled this one from the archives.  i was probably wearing this or something similar the day i was riding down the elevator for lunch, the doors opening on the way down to let someone in, and the lady that was waiting started in, spotted me, took a step back, and laughed, before entering.  uhm, what the hellfire is so visually disturbing about a person in a hat and scarf that you literally recoil from the sight while busting out a guffaw?  this isn't the copacabana.. it's actually cold out when i wear these things.  it's not the dog days of summer here.  maybe your seasons aren't earth seasons, but mine are and one of them is this thing called winter.  read a book.

comments usually take the form of various degrees of irony or mocking, or someone has looked at the hat so long they feel they need to make a verbal communication to me to explain the staring.  i've gotten:

• i like your hat.
• nice hat.
• is it that cold?
• you look warm.
• that's cozy.
• you're wearing a hat.

that last one is my favorite.  why yes, i am wearing a hat.  congratulations on your powers of observation, do you want a cookie?

i wear my dr. who hat sometimes.

when i wear it i'm sexier on the inside

which i would expect to get a comment or look here and there.  it's gotten exactly one comment.  middle-aged man asks me on the elevator (it's always on the elevator.. dude, you don't have to make small-talk, we'll be just fine), is that a dr. who hat or just a police box hat.  haha.  so i say, no, it's dr. who.  then after a good 10 seconds he goes in his kind of whiny voice, "tardisssss."  i'll just let myself out.

here's what i wore the other day which inspired this post:

^real annoyance captured by my mad photo journalism skills.

ok, it's a teeny tiny bit silly.  but it's mostly just a good old-fashioned, red-blooded winter hat.  the ear flaps are functional, people.  my head parts get cold!  there's a polar vortex out there! or is it only ok if it's in camo and i'm wearing an orange vest in the woods?  for wearing this one, i got a snide middle-aged man (a different one) in the elevator that said, "it's not that cold out."

uhm, you do know it's like 14 degrees out, right?  it's literally freezing right now.  if that's not a good time to wear a hat then i don't know when is.  is it like, negative degrees only?  or am i supposed to haul all my stuff into the lobby and put it all on there?  is it that i'm wearing it in the relatively comfortable clime of the elevator that puts you in enough of a bother that you feel the need to comment?

of course, i didn't say any of this.  i didn't say anything.  i guess i had my "i'm not hearing this" face on because i caught my co-workers giving each other the "oh no he didn't" eye, trying not to laugh, because of the i don't know how many times i've told them i get flack for my cold-weather choices.  they knew why i didn't answer.  fool thought i didn't hear him and tried again... he wanted to make sure i heard his clever observation.  so instead of doing what i wanted to do, which is scratch his face for him, i just laughed (because though i'm a badger inside, my outside is a cuddly bunny - i have to learn to balance the two better) and shot back "yeah it is!" and left it at that.  my co-workers barely made it out of there without cracking.

so, i don't know what it is about me and cold-weather gear that people like to pick on. so i like to be warm, sue me.  if i can put on a few more items and be nice and cozy walking to my car, rather than shivering and just holding it off until i can get the heat on, why is that so bad?  my co-workers said to just tell people it's because i'm from california.  but i don't want to tell people that and then they think, oh, that's why.. she's not normal like i am.  no, i'm perfectly normal, if somewhat more hedonistic than you.  you're not stronger or better than me for wearing less.  it's not because i'm from california and i can't handle the cold.   i could handle it if i had to, i just don't want to.  and i don't have to.  didn't our cave brothers and sisters fight the cold and beasts so we could be here today wearing gloves and hats? every time you shiver out in the cold when you could have put on a scarf - and you thought it was beneath you - you turn your back on their suffering.  for shame.

on a happy note, a friendly woman saw me yesterday waiting for the elevators and said jovially, "you look nice and cozy!"  and she sounded like she meant it, too.  well yes ma'am, i am nice and cozy, and thank you for appreciating that.  

the unintentional nerd out

so i got this on saturday:

$2.99 at best buy - what a deal!  it features commentary by cameron crowe, john cusack, and ione skye.  if tomorrow is a snow day it might be the perfect time to pop this in.  mmm.. pop... popcorn.  i like where this is going.

my imaginary shame dunce cone will probably make an appearance though.  i get to wear it sometimes when i embarrass myself or have remembrances thereof. now i've mentioned before, but i don't get embarrassed easily.  i'll be silly or do dumb things and brush it off by explaining that what just happened is because i'm so incredibly awesome.  i can trip and fall and it's all good.  i can ask what kind of animal do they use on groundhog day (what is it, like, a beaver?) and have a belly laugh at my own brain fart. (we still laugh about that one at work.)  i've dealt with anxiety for so long and had to go through enough ordeals that i pretty much have a "couldn't care less" attitude. did i just throw up in the denny's?  yup. i might be incredibly sorry, but i'm not ashamed because that's how i roll.

but. some things make me so squeamish and embarrassed that i can barely stand it.  like watching bad singers on tv. i get so embarrassed *for* them that it's physically uncomfortable for me.  and... putting my foot in my mouth, perhaps. but that's more of a "oh god, no, i said that wrong!" shame.  sometimes if i make a joke to someone i don't know well and they don't get it, and look at me like *i'm* the stupid one.. that's kind of embarrassing (and annoying).  other than that, i honestly can't think of much.  but one of the few times i got really embarrassed was when i "met" john cusack, and now every time i see one of his movies i feel the little embarrassment worm in my tum. 

it was 2001 in the spring, and i don't remember what brought us to malibu, but mark and i had driven up the coast and were looking for a place to eat.  we may have been at the getty, and i'm pretty sure we took santa monica blvd. all the way to the 1 and headed north.  if you were either of us, you'd know it takes us an age and a day to decide where to eat when we are somewhere unfamiliar. on this day we drove all around and decided on a cute cafe in a shopping center called the marmalade cafe.  about half way through our meal mark went to the restroom and i'm at the table, just eating and looking around.  and my eyes sweep over a table near the corner and catch something familiar so i look again and i realize i'm looking at john cusack and he's got his arm up on the table with his head in the crook of his arm. i tried to find a photo like that, but i know you've seen him do this because i honestly think that is how i recognized him before i recognized him - i've seen him in that position so often on the big screen.  so mark comes back to the table and i tell him and that's that. 

before long our meal is over and i need to visit the ladies, so i get up to go. after i get up, john gets up from his table and walks toward the restrooms. but because he is closer, he gets there first.  the men's is occupied, so he's waiting in the little hall, and as i'm coming up on him i do the head nod thing and go "hey," and he goes "hey." and then as i take another step my brain shoots into hyperdrive and i have this little conversation with myself:  "what did you just do? you can't just say 'hey' like you know the man - you don't know him. now you have to say something else so it will seem less weird, like the 'hey' was just a starter." so i say the first thing i think of:  "i just wanted to say that i love you in your movies."

now. that's not a terribly embarrassing and of itself.  if i was out like, at amoeba (records) and he was browsing and i was browsing and i went up and say "hey man, i love you in your movies," that would be fine. but i said "i just wanted to" like i had intended to follow him to the bathroom just so i could say my little sentence. which i didn't! he got up after me so he got there first. but the way i said it made it seem like i saw him go to the men's room and thought ooh, my opportunity has arisen, let me follow him to the bathroom!  so embarrassing.

but that's not all.

i emphasized my sentence with a double thumbs up.

i tried to find a super embarrassing dtp gif but none of them were bad enough to convey my feels.
just picture stephen's right hand doing the same thing.

i don't think i'd ever even done an un-ironic double thumbs up in my life before that moment. but i tell you now that i was in it, with full on enthusiasm. i put those two thumbs up and waved my nerd banner high in the air. he was very nice about it, kind of bobbed his head and said "oh, thank you very much." and i walked on into the ladies room, locked the door behind me, and melted to death amelie style. you didn't know a ghost was typing this, did you? i was so embarrassed i literally mouthed "OH MY GOD" to myself in the mirror and bent over to hid my face in my hands, as you do.

now, in l.a. everyone likes to pretend they're so cool and above caring, that they don't even notice that a celebrity is standing right next to them. (totally guilty of this.. haha.) and i guess, a lot of the time, the celebrities you spot really *are* no big deal.  no one's going to nerd out over alyssa milano or jennifer love hewitt (no offense, ladies.)  i've met, encountered, and spotted so many celebrities and "celebrities" that i honestly couldn't give you a list without forgetting a bunch.  unless it was someone i loved, my brain said "oh look, there's so and so, a celebrity" but my face said "tra la la, i'm not seeing this."  i *have* nerded out before (neil hannon, craig ferguson) and didn't care because i enjoyed doing it.  but this was a totally and completely an unintentional nerd out, a caught off guard over-nerd out for no reason other than i was put on the spot by my stupid brain, and i felt uber embarrassed.

when i got out he was gone and i only had my sad little story to tell. mark thought it was hilarious. and the whole ride home i kept going "oh my god!"

so.. yeah. such a stupid thing to be embarrassed about, even after all these years. i'm sure he'd had plenty of encounters like that before, but for some reason that was a doozy for me.  i think mostly because i had zero control over my brain and mouth and hand parts in that moment.  and i'm not really embarrassed to tell people my goofy story because i think it's hilarious too, but i do still feel the wiggly worm inside when i think of it.  thus, the momentary imaginary dunce hat of shame that magically appears on my head whenever i see him on tv.

who had two thumbs and an unintentional nerd out?

this moi.

ask me about the terrifying grunt cats

so, dreams. who has wacky dreams and two thumbs? this guy! look, i get that no one really cares about anyone else's dreams.. it's not like a movie or a book.  you can't see the picture they have in their head, most of the time the thing that makes it memorable to the dreamer is not easily explained, and it usually takes place in a setting that is "my house, but not my house" or "disneyland, but *my* disneyland, the one in my dreams that i go to."  but, i really do have some doozies that i just can't not share with mark and my co-workers.

some people don't remember their dreams, some people insist they don't dream. i can't imagine not being able to remember dreams. i remember some dreams from years and years back. some dreams are nightmares, some dreams were nightmares that are now just so common that i've learned i'll live through them, some dreams are fantastical, some are full of grief or anger or sadness, some are hilarious, some are beautiful. and you know what? it's exhausting! some mornings i wake up feeling like i've been going and going all night. like jeez, can't a girl get some shut-eye already?  my brain is full of my dreams when i wake up and sometimes i just have to let it out by making some poor sad soul listen. and even though it's near impossible to be objective about a subjective topic, *i* think the dreams i choose to share are pretty wacky and/or funny.  mark and my associates agree that my brain is kind of messed up and needs to calm down during the nighttime hours. and that i should start a blog.

well, i've already started a blog, and no it's not going to turn into a dream blog, so sigh of relief for everyone. i *may* share from time to time when i am prompted by outside sources.  i have two for your perusal today.

last monday i dreamed i was tom selleck the actor, but instead i was a policeman and my junior partner was steve guttenberg. we were after some perps and for whatever reason i had to go undercover as a sexy lady and get a date with my partner, who wasn't allowed to know it was really me (tom). we went on a date to a local mexican restaurant and got the bad guys who hung out there, and then i had to tell steve i wasn't really a sexy lady who was into him and he was very disappointed that his chance at love had all been a lie. (i'm not sure how he didn't know i tom, what with that mustache and all). i told him he did a good job catching the baddies, but i don't think he was consoled. and then we went outside with the rest of the policemen who were there, and there was a rickety carnival in the parking lot and lightning kept coming down so frequently that we all had to lay flat on the ground because if we moved we'd get electrocuted. the end. what would freud make of that one?

friday night i dreamt i was dating the actor who played the older brother on e.t., and even though we had only been dating for a few weeks he invited me to go to the beach in florida with drew barrymore and henry thomas (elliot) because they hang out all the time, as movie siblings from 30 years ago do, you know. but when i get there i discover i am in love with henry thomas (what is up, 14-year-old me - how's life and do you still have his cut out photo from seventeen up on your wall - yes, yes you do) and i don't know what to do with all my feels. so drew gets this secret out of me and she's going to help me, because that's what a loving sister does for her fake brother, because he's secretly in love with me to - yay! the end. i swear i have neither watched e.t. nor legends of the fall in at least 3 years, but somehow my brain parts picked those things out of my head memory bank and put them in a magic bullet for 30 seconds or however long dreams really last and poured out a nice mixed up smoothie of love.

anyway, that might not have been interesting to read at all, and for that i am sorry. but only a little sorry because this blog is for me too, and i know when i'm sixty i'm going to read my post and laugh. and probably say "so what else is new" because i don't see this dream parade stopping anytime soon, unless i get dementia and then it will be like dreaming 24 hours a day i imagine.

i also took our new camera across the street to the golf course to capture some of the remaining snow and that is what these pictures are about.

fashion: all the stuff i'm wearing is old.. don't even try to find it.
except the tardis hat. which you can find on the internet like, anywhere.

i'm not sure, but i think i may be getting slightly crosseyed in my old age.

you know you read too much...

...when a simple typo causes way too much thought processing to take place. 

yesterday, i got some liquid plumbr to clear up a minorly slow-ish draining issue in my tub, not even a problem yet.  after waiting the prescribed 15 minutes (no, i lied. it was 20 minutes. i was looking at the australian gold coast vacation rentals on airbnb.com and i got distracted.), the tub drained and i was like, ok, shower time.  now i don't know what kind of chewbacca hairball got dislodged from it's secret hiding nook, but it completely took over the drain and stopped up the entire thing.  the shower water rose to bathing levels and barely drained maybe 3 inches overnight.  mark went to walmart in the nightime hours, as one does, and bought a drano snaking kit, yadda yadda.  long story short it didn't work, and he wrote me a note and posted it on the shower door to tell me.

i saw the note this evening and his p.s. said "turn of the space heater."

turn of the space heater?  what?  is that like henry james' the turn of the screw?  is he trying to give me a message?  does he want me to read this space heater book?  is it like, a how-to book?  10 Easy Household Annoyances, Fixed in One Turn of the Space Heater by uncle joe plumber.  is it like, a soap opera mr. fix-it book?  like sands through the hour glass, so are the turns of our space heaters...

so i'm standing there like, pondering deeply, when it hits me.  turn off the space heater.  the space heater in front of my nightstand that i use every morning when i'm getting dressed.  that i left on *one* time and now i wear the scarlet letters S and H for all eternity, with no pardon issued despite countless months of good behavior because i "could have burned the house down."  i don't know why i had such a hard time figuring that one out.  he reminds me every day to do my duty to keep him char free.  mark's conversations with me end thus: "ok, love you, bye.. drive safe.. be good..  turn off the space heater!"

so yeah.  flummoxed by a simple typo.  what's the word for when your brain makes things so much harder than they have to be?  because i have that.