Life Lately

The winter here finally got cold so I've been spending lots of time hanging with the dogs, watching tv. Last weekend Travis and I pulled out the sofa bed and spent a few days lounging around watching old favorites. It was so perfect. I'm tempted to pull the bed out again today! (Another snow day!)

I have kind of figured out work things for now. You might remember that I left my job at Whole Foods in September unexpectedly and wasn't sure what I wanted to do next. For now I am kind of piecing it together and working for myself most, which I love! I am doing product demos for several natural industry companies, doing shipt (on demand grocery delivery) and last week I got hired two days a week at a local vegan meal delivery service, My Veggie Chef. It is definitely an adjustment and a little scary to be out here without company health insurance and benefits, but for now it is working for me. I am much happier to have a break from the high stress I was under in the old job.

The most exciting news as of late? Crystal and I bought plane tickets and passes to go to Drag Con in LA in May! Ahhhhh!! We're gonna meet RuPaul! We talked about it casually, then realized that both of us being able to go might not come around again. She is self employed too. So we took the plunge! We are flying in a few days before, and staying a day after so we can hang with some friends and go to Little Japan and just have a great time in general. I'm already saving all I can for the trip. Outfit planning starts, NOW!

In other exciting news, we got a kitty shelf! We have talked about it for years, I'm not sure why we waited so long. The cats love it! They seem to be taking turns on it. Scampi lays on it all day, then Scout and Murray take turns once the sun goes down. 

Travis has hooked me up in the bath bomb department for the winter. Ahhhhh so lovely. The new intergalactic bomb from Lush is current favorite. He got me this "Happy Bathday" tin and stocks it back up when I'm running low. What a man.

I FINALLY picked out a photo and Crystal made me the most perfect wallet ever! The outside (and inside) are so glittery! I absolutely love it. You should check out her shop, Olivia Frankenstein. She can custom make you a wallet with almost anything on it!

Porter has now been with us for five weeks. Like I mentioned yesterday, they have a good lead on a family for him in Maryland. He is our fourth foster dog (though we hadn't fostered since 2010) and the best. Even if he REALLY doesn't want to go out in the snow.

That is pretty much all that has been going on lately.

Snow Day!

I have lived in Tennessee all of my life, and am used to our mild winters. Every once in a while we'll get an inch of snow, the whole town will close down, and it will melt by noon. Today we got a real snow day! Last I checked (several hours ago) we have 5.5 inches in our yard. My best friend Crystal told me they measured 8 at her house, just a little north. The last time I saw this much snow was back in 2009 when we lived in that cold antebellum manor house in Columbia.
The weathermen were warning us about it, but it wasn't supposed to hit until Friday afternoon. Travis even went into work early because they were trying to beat the storm. But by the time he got to work at 6 am the snow was already accumulating, and as of 9 pm, it still hasn't stopped! Thankfully his company sent everyone home, and after an hour and a half of route changing, dodging out of control cars, and stopping for tamale supplies he was back home with me.

Our little cottage, so cute in the snow. 

Our backyard about 9 this morning. It snowed for nearly 12 more hours!

The dogs are NOT into it! Thankfully we have a thick cedar tree that has less snow under it, or we might have a potty strike on our hands! The second time I took her out Priscilla just stared at me like "Why am I out here again???"

Snow selfies are a must. I loved looking at all the snow photos on my instagram feed today.

I thought Porter would like it, but he RAN back inside as soon as his business was done. He spent the rest of the day curled up as close to me as possible. I actually talked to someone tonight who will probably end up adopting him! I'm happy for him (and the family!) but I will miss this little boo.

After I took the dogs out I wandered around the yard taking photos while waiting for Travis to pull up. I was a little worried because it had been a while since he told me he was on his way home, but I didn't want to call and distract him since the roads were so bad. Basically it rained all night and washed the salt away, then all the water froze under the snow!

I forget about my heart railing. It is so cute!

Once Travis got home he made us a pancake breakfast and told me tales of all the wrecks he saw! 

He told me that the little market down the street was opened, so we walked down there to get a few necessities: avocados, onions, oreos, and sweet tea. And yes, he is in SHORTS. Travis pretty much refuses to wear pants. He is one of THOSE people.

Yeah! Avocados were what we really needed because Travis decided to use part of his day off to make us tamales! They were REALLY good! I'm so glad he finally tried making them, because it wasn't as hard as we thought. They just take a while. We froze most of the batch, but I doubt they will last long. 

Back down our snowy street. I was surprised how few people were out! Usually Nashville ignores the mayor's pleas for everyone to stay off the roads!

We wanted to build a snowman but it was too powdery and wouldn't stick together much. So we made teeny snowmen! Here is the artist at work. He cracked me up putting his on the mailbox.

I tried to make mine cute and put a gravel mouth on it, but he turned out kind of terrifying! 

Travis found a "scarf" for his. 

We came inside, and spent the rest of the day snacking and watching movies on the couch. What a day!
I'm going to go check right now to see how deep the snow is. Stand by!.......7 inches! I can't believe it! The high tomorrow is 30 so it will probably stick around until Sunday. I'm pretty content to be snowed in for a little while longer. We have plenty of movies and tamales and maybe I can finish my 2015 photobook. It would only be better if we lived closer to Crystal and Marc. I wish we could go sledding with them tomorrow!
If you are up North and rolling your eyes at me, please forgive the enthusiasm. We are not used to this much beautiful snow! It kinda feels like another reality!

Childhood Crushes vs. Adult Crushes

If you follow my good friend Kimmie over at That Girl in the Wheelchair (and honestly if you don't, get on it!. I love her blog almost as much as I love her actual presence.) you saw her recent post on her childhood crushes vs. her adult crushes. It all started with a hashtag on instagram that did not go as viral as we had hoped! We talked a LOT of about crushes and I promised to make this post. It only took me about 20 days! Ha! Silly because my list was very easy. I am a woman of many crushes and my list came to me very quickly. This might be the most self indulgent post on a pretty self indulgent blog, so I hope you enjoy it!

First lets take a look at the dudes (and others) that made my heart beat faster from elementary to middle school:

1. Indiana Jones // We had a VHS copy of the Last Crusade that I wore out in middle school! There was something about that archeologist with a fear of snakes and a super cute teacher nerd look. I liked Raiders of the Lost Ark too of course (though I always closed my eyes before the Nazi's eyeballs melted, gross!). Hot nerds have always been my thing.
2. Brian Littrell // I was SO into the Backstreet Boys. My room was completely covered in posters and when my dad took me to the Millennium tour when I was in 8th grade I cried and screamed so hard I lost my voice for two days. Brian was my favorite I think because he was "the funny one." And I still maintain he has the voice of an angel. I might have locked myself in the bathroom once because my mom said he had a big nose. Teenage hormones are a trip.
3. Seymour Krelborn // My family loved Little Shop of Horrors and my grandparents took me to see many productions around Middle Tennessee. Seymour is probably my original nerd crush, and I always loved whoever played him. He is the perfect weird underdog who gets swept up in a murderous killing spree, egged on by a plant from outer space, while maintaining his love for sweet by trashy Audrey. Their duet, "Suddenly Seymour" is one of my favorite things of ALL TIME, and I have the title tattooed on me.
4. Raphael // I used to wish on green skittles that the "cool but rude" Raphael would come to life and be my boyfriend. Is that weird?
5. The Beast // I can't be the only one who was disappointed when he turned into a man.
6. Hawkeye // In middle school along with the Backstreet Boys, I was weirdly OBSESSED with M*A*S*H. How many 7th graders do you know with the sheet music to "Suicide is Painless" framed on their wall? Hawkeye was my favorite, he was so funny and weird and such a lady's man. BJ Honeycut gets an honorable mention, he was pretty babely as well.
7. Burt from Mary Poppins // This was my brother's favorite movie and I always thought Burt was so cute and cool! We also watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang a lot, and I loved his vest outfit for "The Ole Bamboo" routine.
8. Lenny from That Thing You Do! // I watched this movie SO MUCH and it made me love Steve Zahn forever. Following my pattern, I liked him because he was the funniest. That movie is still a favorite, and Lenny can still get it.
9. Ace Ventura // He was funny and had tons of pets, what is not to love?  
10. Jack Skellington // Believe me, I kept my animated crushes at 3, but I could have put more. Jack was just so cool and sensitive! My mom actually hid my copy of the Nightmare Before Christmas because I wanted to watch it every day.
11. Han Solo // What woman doesn't love Han Solo? He is handsome, heroic, and kind of a jerk. And that vest! He is still a favorite now.
12. Johnathan Taylor Thomas // If you are my age you probably had a crush on JTT. From his turn as Randy on Home Improvement, to my personal favorite, the jerky kid in Man of the House with Chevy Chase, he was a preteen dreamboat for sure. Looking back over my list, he might be the only age appropriate crush I had.

And now, my current crushes as a 30 year old woman. As a lifelong pop culture obsessor I never outgrew my crush phase. Don't worry, Travis is amused by it and sometimes indulges me. Once he gave me a tiny framed photo of Milo Ventimiglia as a gift. Milo didn't make the list because I pretty much lost interest in him after Gilmore Girls, but here are the dreamy dudes that did:

1. Jemaine Clement // King of all crushes, Jemaine has been my number one since I first saw him in Flight of the Conchords back in 2007. He is funny and cute and sweet and reminds me of Travis. I went to find a video to link and fell into a Jemaine youtube hole for over an hour. There are so many good choices, but I guess "Bret, You've Got It Going On" is one of my favorite moments. I love that he is in movies regularly now, and I can't wait for the Conchords to tour the US again! Remember when I met him and looked crazy in my photo back in 2009? I hope that can happen again, but I can look less deranged, ha!
2. Sutan Amrull // Also known as Raja on Rupaul's Drag Race. I love his personality and interesting style and his new gray hair. I'm always down for a creative drag queen who looks cute as a boy.
3. Fred Armisen // I'm a sucker for a funny dude with glasses. I love it when he plays himself on Portlandia, especially when he is rude. I guess he has taken over where Raphael left off.
4. Joseph Gordon Levitt // Looks great in a suit, and super charming.
5. Pearl // Another Drag Race dude. If you watched season 7, you fell in love with boy Pearl. So adorable, so sweet. We met Pearl at Play and she complimented me on my cute husband, hah!
6. Chris Pratt // I love him as chubby Andy Dwyer, I love him as Star Lord. I love him training dinos. I just love him.
7. Zachary Quinto // Zachary should really be #2 but I didn't want too many ties in a row. I fell for ZQ when I saw him as Spock, and have kept an eye out for him every since. I especially like him in interviews, and I've watched this one (filmed in a dog park) probably 20 times! He has rescue dogs and a big vocabulary and those handsome caterpillar eyebrows. I can't wait for Star Trek: Beyond this summer, even if he seems to be wearing a terrible wig in it. Remember that time I got Travis to dress as Spock? Hubba, hubba!
8. Taika Waititi // Taika came to my attention because he cowrote/directed What We Do In the Shadows this year with Jemaine. He is a cutie in his own right, and I especially love him as Viago in that movie. I love watching/listening to interviews with him and Jemaine because they seem to genuinely enjoy each other's company and work well together. There is also that irresistible Kiwi accent.
9. Andre 3000 // Andre Benjamin has been on my list since high school. He is just so hot and creative and kind of a weirdo. All things I like in a crush.
10. Jason Schwartzman // I don't know much about Mr. Schwartzman, but I love it whenever he shows up in a movie. I think I fell for him mostly from him roles in Wes Anderson movies.
11. Tom Hardy // There is just something about him, especially all the photos you can find online of him cuddling dogs. Even when he is playing a terrible villain, or has a crazy look for a movie, I'm into it.
12. Chris Pine // Mr. Pine is almost TOO handsome. Of course I was introduced to him with Star Trek, but I'll give anything he is in a chance. I have seen a few terrible movies just to get a glimpse of those baby blues. He was the best part in Into the Woods, and I'm looking forward to that movie coming out soon where he plays a ship captain? Or something? All I know is he has a cute period haircut. I can't wait for Trek this summer, and the inevitable press tour. He and Zachary Quinto being interviewed together are PERFECT.

There you have it! Do I have a type? Funny guys, glasses, sideburns, cute suits...I'm into all of that.

Did you have any weird crushes when you were a kid? Do you have any now? Did you read this whole post? Are you obsessed with Jemaine's pillowy lips too? I need to know!

52 Lists: 2016 Goals!

It isn't too late to make some goals for the year right? I've had this list since the first, I just have been too distracted with things like watching tv with the dogs, and going out TOO much. That photo is from Bowie Night at the Stone Fox last Friday. I went with Ryan, Travis and Jamie.
Last year my only goal was to learn to do eyeliner and wear it, and I did it!
I think new year's goals are really fun to make as long as you make them about something fun, not about something you hate about yourself, or something that makes you feel guilty. I haven't had a big list in years, but here are some of the things I want to do in 2016:

1. Post more on my blog // Last year I posted less than I have since I started blogging back in 2001. One of my favorite things to do is look back through my blog and see what I was doing and thinking at different times. Even if it is embarrassing! So this year I'm going to make time to post more. I think part of the reason I did less last year was people don't interact on blogs as much anymore.  I'm as guilty of anyone as reading but not leaving a comment, so I'm going to try to do that more too on the blogs I read, and on instagrams I love.

2. Go on an overnight hike with Travis //  Travis loves the outdoors and usually goes on an overnight hike or two with friends every year. It isn't really my thing, but I've commited to doing it with him at least once this year. I've told him to plan one that isn't TOO challenging, and we'll probably take a few friends. I am making some little walking goals to get ready, and plan to walk a mile or 2 a day. I'm excited and scared to do this!

3. Make at least 2 photo books // I take lots of photos, and though I put them on the blog, I don't do much else with them. I want to put them into photobooks using blurb, and print them. My goal is to do at least 2 this year. I'm already half through a book about 2015, so I might even make a few more! We'll see. I don't want all my photos to just sit on hard drives forever.

4. Read 100 books // This is my usual book goal. I only made it to 80 last year, but I'm going for 100 again this year. I'm on my 6th right now.

5. File quarterly taxes //  This is kind of boring...but I want to write it down! I am doing lots of independent contractor type stuff right now, and I think it will be a good idea for me to do my taxes quarterly, we'll see if it is too complicated since we usually file jointly. I'm going to talk to a tax professional about it.

6. Make some stuff // Going with the theme of making goals that don't make me feel guilty, I'm keeping this vague. I love it when I make time to do something creative, so I would like to do some of that this year. Not sure how this will play out, but I have lots of ideas.

7. Hang out a lot // Not going to a regular job makes it easy to hibernate and not make plans. I want to keep seeing all my friends that I love and not just hole up in my house. We're doing really well at this so far!

National Dress Your Pet Day!

Did you guys know it was National Dress Your Pet Day today? I didn't either, but it was on the Pugs and Kisses calendar that my best friend Crystal bought me for Christmas. I'm so glad I procrastinated on putting it up until today or I might have missed the holiday! That is one that my household definitely observes! I couldn't resist dusting off the old pug wardrobe chest.

Wait, are you thinking....who is that HUGE pug next to the dainty Phyllis and Priscilla?

Meet Porter! We are fostering him for Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue! We've had him since a little before Christmas and he is the best. Seriously, if it were at all feasible we would keep him. He is so well behaved and sweet! He can hold a sombrero on his head for a full minute! If you are in the market for a middle aged (he is seven!) pug baby, you should check out the rescue. They cover a huge area! Though I will seriously be sad when he gets adopted.

He is so big, he wouldn't fit in any of the clothes we have. I think the skeleton suit still looked pretty good. Look at Priscilla, gazing at him (well she is probably gazing at Travis.) My two don't play, but I have caught all three of these guys napping in a line.

This dress KILLS me. I think it is the cutest one we own. 

The old girls are doing ok. Phyllis has definitely slowed down since her illness in the fall, and Priscilla has taken many tumbles since her ear drum ruptured. I have to be careful leaving her on the couch or bed, and she half fell down the two steps taking these photos. Travis caught her thankfully. They have definitely been showing their age. For now we are spending a lot of time with these two sleeping either in our laps or at our feet. That is fine with me though.

Porter! I'm so happy to have a chance to care for you boy. I hope your forever family isn't ready for you QUITE yet.

Last PNW Post: Carnival Bars and Japanese Shopping Sprees

Can you believe it? I'm finally doing the last post about our vacation from this fall. I'm so glad we were able to finally visit the Pacific Northwest. I can't wait to go back!
After the museum we went to dinner at a vegan restaurant that everyone in town recommended to us. It was really mediocre and expensive, so we'll just pretend it never happened. After dinner we went to this bar called the Unicorn. It was carnival themed!

It was so cool inside! This was another photobooth.net find. 

I got a delicious drink (it was called a Unicorn Jizz) and some quinoa balls. Travis wasn't into them but I LOVED them! They were kinda spicy and all kinds of yummy. Like tater tots.

Can you imagine my shock and despair when I saw that they do a drag production of Little Shop of Horrors here? The next afternoon, right about the time our flight left for Nashville. Two of my favorite things combined! Argh!

We got a strip of photos in their booth, is the third from the left here. These are all our strips from this trip. There are SO many booths in the PNW!

As we were going downstairs we passed this guy. He is traveling around doing portraits for tips. We thought what the heck and gave him all the cash we had left (about 10 bucks).

And he drew this portrait of us! I LOVE IT!! So much. I tried to find him online but can't find a trace. If you come across him in your travels, get him to do a portrait of you (If you like weird stuff, haha).

We left the bar and walked to our car. All the cross walks in the area were rainbow striped! Cool!

Next we made our way to Uwajimaya Village. We had been in a Daiso earlier (a Japanese dollar store) and when I was trying to find it, I saw mention of this place in a bunch of reviews. I'm crazy for Japanese stuff so I figured it was worth a trip. The grocery store part was so cute!

Look at that precious sake!

When we got to the bookstore portion I went crazy! It was big and full of cute Japanese stuff from stationary to toys to books to plush! It was really hard to decide what to get!

Ah! Pusheen!

Sonny Angels!

Gudetama! (He is my favorite Sanrio character right now. A lazy egg. He is so cute!)

Look at that HUGE Pusheen! It was $399!

They had tons of Studio Ghibli stuff. I was tempted by those Totoro coin purses, and the Jiji plush in the back!

They had so much Rilakuma stuff too. It was heavenly!

Here is the stuff I bought there. About half was gifts for Crystal. But a lot was for me. I can't find that Pusheen pencil pouch though! I know I didn't leave it in the yurt, but can't find where I stashed it.

We went back to the yurt and fell asleep under the star lanterns. It even rained that night, which sounded awesome beating against the sides of the yurt. I can't wait to stay in another one!

The next morning we got up early to drive back to Portland for our flight back to Nashville. All week I had been full of regret that we didn't get clay portraits while we were at the Portland Saturday Market. Travis suggested we get into town early enough, and see if we could make it work. So we got to the market moments after it opened. It was raining (The first rainy day of our whole trip!) so there were barely any people walking around.

I think this is such a cool idea! You sit there and the potter makes a portrait of you in about 15 minute! He did Travis and I as gnomes. Me holding a camera, Travis holding a pocket knife.

Look at how cute they are! What a fun souvenir! We left them with him so they could be fired and booked it to the airport. We made one last stop for pastries and sandwiches at Sweetpea Bakery and maybe cut it a little close at the airport, but I needed that strudel!

Here is our plane flying over the Rocky Mountains. We had an amazing trip. I'm so glad we were able to go, and I can't wait to go back.