VELOUR

-1- drinking from mason jars mmmmm, so delicious. they just make everything taste better.

-2-
moccasins in the winter for years i anticipated winter with horror, and not only for the temperature (because i hate being cold) but the other reason (which, come to think of it, is still about the temperature) was that my feet were always impractically shod.  i do love boots, i do, but they're not for every day, and flip flops or thin flats don't cut it in january. not even in south louisiana.  but this year, (this year has been good to me) the stars aligned in my favor and SHAZAM! from heaven! (in the form of The Goodwill) fell a pair of perfectly perfect, never worn moccasins!  warm and cheap.  my toes are so grateful.  so is my purse.
you may now congratulate me for killing two birds with one stone. i am the Goodwill Hunter.

-3- help friends who come alongside and say to me, either in word or deed:

"i will race with you. ...and we will reach the finish line together." -4- sti…

for all you last minute shoppers, like myself, here are a few ideas for the hard-to-buy-for people on your list.  don't despair, help is here!
before we begin, let me just go ahead and offer up my preemptive "you're welcome" to save myself the time later.  because later, i ought to be shopping.
should be. ought to be. we'll see if that actually happens.
now that i have this list compiled though, it should make that easier. 
-1- crochet shorts, winning at losing there just aren't enough of these in rotation, you know?   when was the last time you saw a pair?  even the caption says "poorlydressed dot com".  see?  and this is what i'm saying to you.  the state of this world concerns me, whatwith its blatant and absolute disregard for this issue.  yes, yes, the world needs love and let's spread the love but can we also (i beg you) spread the crochet shorts, too? help your loved one WIN at LOSING.  help them to be the best loser!
-2- the candwich, w…

one sunday night, at a church in town that is not our regular church, hearing a speaker* that is not the regular speaker:
he's belting loudly,
"that thing that stands between you and God,
what are you gonna do about it?" he's running back and forth across the front of the church, his body so full of passion and drive that he can't even walk anymore. he runs.

if you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted would you capture it? or just let it slip?
...you only get one shot do not miss your chance to blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.
eminem "this is your moment, on the count of three, i want you to shout it out!"

feet fail me not,  this may be the only opportunity i got
eminem holy crap! i'm in church, other people are gonna hear me. am i really about to do this?!
"what are you gonna do about it?! come on! it's clogging your pipe! what are you gonna do about it? go hard!
go strong.
go for it. here we go, ya ready? …

can you believe it is almost christmas?
how did it get here so fast?

well ready or not, it is upon us and i am determined to make christmas stuff this year.  i've pinned (and continue to pin) many ideas that i adore.  christmas is the one holiday i decorate for and if i keep collectingslashmaking decor, i'm gonna need a bigger barn.
(i don't actually have a barn because, well, sometimes life is cruel.)
i do have a habitat for humanity restore in town though, so with that one move life has redeemed itself from the blow about the barn.  why am i talking about the restore?  because that's where i go to find delicious scraps to make items like numero uno on our list today.
which reminds me: remember when i used to number this list in foreign languages, in order to gain more linguistic eloquence? i keep forgetting to do that.  i'll rectify that just asair.  (which means, just 'as soon as i remember'.)
//1 wood scrap tree this little tree has bewitched me body and…

i totally ganked this idea from rob shep.  (not sure if i should offer thanks for the great idea, or my apologies for my thievery.) 

i'm really hard up for blog material right now and and AND, let's not forget that copying is the highest form of flattery.  we do it in the fashion world all the time!  let us all just agree here, so that i can sleep like a baby angel tonight.

on we go...

in rob's words, and i quote: "A lot of people have a bucket list. That is a list of things that they want to do before they die. I have an unbucket list. That is a list of things that I hope never happen to me before I die."   end quote

here's my list:
own a poodle or other small dog.  don't even try to flannelmouth me into getting one.  i have such a devoted hatred for the yapping.  and poodles? ugh, disgust.  pierce my septum.  makes my body do the freak out dance just thinking about it.   have a baby the regular way.  i'm a big fan of the c-section.  too much inform…

//1  the hunger games  i hear the name katniss everdeen and i'm fighting off the urge to disappear into the book again, and apparently it's not just me, because i did a search this week for something i'd seen on pinterest but didn't have the good sense to pin.  it was a little saying that said something about that void you feel at the end of a book series or novel.  (if i could remember the words, i wouldn't have to re-find it on pinterist)(which i've been unsuccessful at, else it would be right here where these words are, in place of these words). 
so i typed in the words 'finished book series, void'.  the very first image i see is the cover of mockingjay, the 3rd book in this series.  i guess you could say this book is catching fire.  (hah!) which brings me to book two.
//2 catching fire  i know. i know these could all fit neatly into one category instead of each having their own place in the list, but they are three separate things, and like my childr…

it's midweek, when it feels like it should at least be thursday.  here is a dose of mercy, in the form of laughter, to get you through the week.

you owe me.



oh no, wait, there's more.



now you owe me even more.

and don't try to pay me in peanut butter.

acceptable forms of payment are as follows:
form an alliance with me

that is all.

what is up, yo?

if we're friends on facebook, you may have noticed that i'm researching and about to start the paleo diet.  this post does not, in any way, reflect that fact.  the diet hasn't started yet, sooooo maybe let's just look at this is my last hurrah.
also, remember that that thing i once said about "40 bags in 40 days"?  i may have said something about "doing this" and "starting monday".  that was fourteen days ago.  fourteen. and in fourteen days, i've filled one bag.  one.  i am nothing if not stupid-good at procrastinating.  
and if i know anything, it's that i probably haven't even begun to procrastinate yet, and it's a shame too, because my spice cabinet has never been happier.
//1 maya's  if you're a local, have i got a treat for you.  (if you're not, come on down!  it'll be my treat!) this is a recent discovery thanks to my friend, serena, who is a TRUE friend.  what else would you call one who s…

you thought i was late huh?
i'm not late.
it's still sunday.
so really, i'm just fashionably late.

fashionably late -
the refined art of being just late enough to give the impression that you are a busy, popular person that was held up with other business.
see that? refined art.  don't be mad wit' me.  i'm just sittin' over here honin' my skill of giving impressions of busyness.  i'm quite good at it.
now, without further delay...
//1 screen doors
i wish all my doors could be screen doors. well, not really, because it's impractical, but if i could, i'd have three.  one for each exterior door, and one somewhere in the interior.   there's nowhere where that works right now, but maybe someday. //2 lavender scented gain dryer sheets mama said knock you out. //3 good runs i ran a 5K this weekend. it sucked. it was not a good run.
neither was my one run this past week.
i hate it when that happens.
but what i love is the good runs.
it's why i…

a moose noshes much mush.  
y'all know that tongue twister?  i'd never heard it before.  one of the kids came across it in a book and they were all clambering to be the first to get through it without tripping.
never to be outdone, the 4 year old, shortest of the shorties, very self-assuredly says,
and i quote:
"i can shay that.  a noos moshes mush mush.  sho easy."

reading a store-front sign, our eldest man-child sees the word 'education' and says aloud,
'uh-douche-uh-cay-shun'.
close honey, but no cigar. ...and now for your own uh-douche-uh-cay-shun: U.S. funfair stalls in the mid-20th century  offered cigars as prizes to the winner.  whenever someone would lose a game --  particularly, the one where you test your strength  by trying to ring a bell with a sledge hammer -- after being so close to victory and still falling short,  the owner of the stall would say, "close, but no cigar."   there is no evidence to back this up,  however it is likely the phrase originated from here.  arbitrary so it must be true.


and now i'm off to buy cigars, for when he gets it right next time.

//1  fall fashion stay ahead of fashion curves without busting your wallet (and your man bustin' ya chops).

//2 finding your voice i liked this, and i thought i'd share it because most of you are writers, and maybe you've wrestled with this, too.
//3 40 bags in 40 days i'm gonna do this.  starting monday.  //4 meal plans  i want to do this.  the food looks delicious, healthy and do-able.  for 10 smackers a month, you get a menu and a grocery list for each week.  ADD TO CART!
//5 homemade coffee creamers i made the chocolate almond one tonight.  next on the list, pumpkin spice.   back up off me, international delight.  you can't touch this.
-----------------------------------
//6 a nifty gifty in honor of the season premier of parks and rec, which is less than two weeks away, here is a nifty printable gift that will bring you joy for days to come.  if you'll print it and play with it, that is. i give you, tom haverford. you're welcome.  
and in case you're unfami…