once in a lullaby

I've been in a terrible movie rut lately. Every once in a while, even though I'm a HUGE movie fan, I go through dry spells where I listen to music, watch the news, binge watch tv shows, and catch up on reading, but consume basically no films whatsoever. This whole month I only logged five movies on letterboxd. FIVE. Meanwhile I watched the entirety of Community. Twice.

I've been a big fan of The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock for a while now but for some reason I could never get into Community until recently. I love it sooooo much now, though. Troy is my favorite, and I love the Dean. And I have a terrible crush on Jeff Winger. Ughhhh. I have such a weakness for characters that are mean and cocky but also have a sweet side and a good heart underneath the rough exterior. I love the narcissism episode when his "swagger has a new swagger" *falls on the floor like the Dean.*



I also just finished binge-watching The Santa Clarita Diet (for the second time) which is probably my third-favorite currently-running comedy. (First place goes to The Good Place, Second place is Brooklyn 99) I love that somehow Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are total #couplegoals while simultaneously killing people as a team to get human meat for zombie Drew.

It's weird that I always end up feeling a little guilty during these non-movie spurts, like as if I'm cheating on my favorite pastime lol! But the heart wants what the heart wants, and right now that seems to be Joel McHale in aviators and Drew Barrymore eating people. C'est la vie!

shirt - vintage | skirt - c/o modcloth | shoes - bait footwear

long story short

I AM WEARING SHORTS!!! This is a big deal to me. Like I said last week, I haven't worn a bathing suit in public in about ten years. I also haven't worn shorts since I was in high school. I'm so self conscious about my thighs, the only times I *have* worn shorts, I've layered tights underneath so that it would still hide my legs. But I keep coming back to one of my favorite Mindy Kaling quotes - "If you've got it, flaunt it. And if you don't got it? Flaunt it." I'm flaunting it this year, whether I've got it or not lol!

My insecurities haven't been so wholly conquered that I'll be wearing shorts every day, but it's nice to give myself the option again. I wore jean shorts for a walk in the park last week and nobody stared at my legs or shouted at me to cover up my dimply thighs. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had built it up to be in my head. I think we all have insecurities that we obsess over, but to everyone else we just look like normal human beings. We need to look at ourselves that way, too!

playsuit - asos | shoes - ralph lauren

flower power

I am such a sucker for daisy stuff. I chalk it up to either my 90's upbringing or the fact that it's my Grandmom's favorite flower. But I can't resist anything that's daisy shaped, daisy print, or, well, actual daisies. I have a few little pots of them (fake ones, but still) sprinkled around the house.

Anyway, I'm just obsessed with the print on this dress. It's also available as a bathing suit and I'm SO tempted! I've been wearing black bathing suits layered under dresses or opaque cover-ups for like ten years now but I think I'm beginning to experience that thing that everyone says happens when you hit your thirties -- I honestly do not care what other people think about how I look. I think this is the year I finally just go in the ocean without hiding my body under multiple layers. It's crazy to think how long I've gone without feeling the sun on my thighs or feeling warm ocean waves on my stomach, all because I'm so hung up on what other people think of my cellulite or jiggly arms. Not anymore!

dress - c/o modcloth | sweater - old navy | shoes - bait footwear

sunglasses - oui fresh | brooch - my shop

a day at the beach at home

This was what I wore for Mother's Day this year. My mom and grandmom love the beach, but neither of them really like going anywhere for Mother's Day, especially places where there would be holiday crowds (like the beach.) So I gave them a "day at the beach at home" instead!

I started things off by giving everyone sunglasses to wear on their head (since we'd be "at the beach" indoors) and started this youtube video for a background soundtrack of beachy noises like seagulls, waves, and wind.

For decorations I got inflatable beach balls from the dollar store (and blew them up manually since I couldn't find our air pump *still coughing two weeks later*) and used them as a centerpiece. I got sand castle buckets, filled them with ice, and used them for sodas and water bottles. My brother let me borrow his collection of conch shells and we placed them all around the kitchen. And I found really cute Jersey Shore themed plates (the location, not the show, lol) at the grocery store. I couldn't find them online but these are really similar.

I made homemade fudge and candy and dressed up the kitchen counter to look like a little boardwalk candy shop! I even pretended they had to order by the pound, lol ;) For dinner my dad and brother cooked on the grill, and for dessert I got churros and funnel cakes from a nearby take-out restaurant and just heated them up in the air fryer when it was time to eat.

My favorite part of the day though was when we played games! I made my own version of the frog boardwalk game with these frogs, and giant ping pong paddles I got at the craft store. I set up three giant bowls on our coffee table in the living room at varying distances, and marked how many points you'd get depending on how far away the bowl was. Then each person got four frogs and had to try to get them into the bowls. It was SO fun, and my mom and grandmom really got into it! After that we played ring toss with pool rings from the craft store and bottles of water placed at varying distances again. When it was all over, I added up the points and everyone got to pick prizes! I got some stuffed animals at the dollar store and strung them up on the bookcase in the living room, with different animals having different point values.

We all had SO much fun, and my Grandmom even said it was the best Mother's Day ever! It might have even been more fun than a *real* day at the beach, lol!

dress - joanie | sweater - forever 21

shoes - ralph lauren | sunglasses - amazon 

such fun

Usually every spring I experience a burst of creativity, and until this week I honestly felt like it was going to pass me by this year. I'd had "new pin designs" on my to-do list since *February* but I just wasn't feeling inspired or motivated. My sales have been slowly but steadily declining since about October so that can be really demoralizing and kind of quashes my urge to produce new work. Why make something if it won't sell, etc. But I mean, even if at some point I end up having to get a "real" job, I'd still want to make things. It's fun to make things! Even if nobody else wants to buy them. So when I suddenly got a little burst of creativity earlier this week, through sheer willpower I turned it into a GIANT burst of creativity. I knocked out a new pocket mirror series (over 25 designs hitting the shop next week), and 11 new pin designs. I added four new t-shirt designs to my store (literally zero have sold but IT IS GOOD TO MAKE THINGS JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT) and I have another one ready to list. And I totally cleaned out and reorganized my supply storage, to boot! Phew!

Sometimes when making things is your livelihood it can be tough to separate the "my income relies on this" from the "I genuinely enjoy doing this!" and it's nice to remind myself every now and then that worrying about the first thing shouldn't make the making any less fun :)

dress - vintage | cardigan - amazon | belt - amazon | shoes - bait footwear

what I'd wear to Disneyland

I thought it would be fun to start a little series of outfits I'd wear to specific locations or for specific occasions. I actually intended to pack this outfit for my day in Disneyland last month, but then I found this pretty pink polkadot dress that I ended up taking with me instead. And then once I was actually there I ended up wearing a totally different dress anyway, lol! I love that pink dress but it was the last day of my trip and I was feeling a little bloated so I wanted something more comfy. The photo-ops may have suffered a bit since I was bedecked in black florals instead of pink polka dots, but I was much more comfortable and (tmi??) didn't feel like I had to suck in my stomach all day, lol!

Anyway though, this outfit felt SO Disney-ish to me! The skirt is made out of rainbow tulle and it's SO pretty when you twirl! I got it on the clearance rack at Hot Topic at the mall, and they don't seem to have this color online anymore, but I found some on ebay here. It's actually a My Little Pony dress, but the only themed detail is a little logo on the top corner of the bodice so it's easy to cover up with a cardigan.

Me and my mom are daydreaming about doing Disney World later this year or early next year, and I think this dress will absolutely be coming along if/when we go!

dress - hot topic | cardigan - amazon | shoes - bait footwear

kiss the girl

My parents adopted a new cat last month! The family who brought her into the shelter thought she was a boy, and had named her George. The shelter named her Georgia when they realized she was a girl. And my parents were going to name her Kleo. But she's such a shy scaredy cat that we're all just calling her George so she hears a familiar name. She's honestly the most shy, skittish cat I've ever met! The vet said it's totally normal for some cats to take longer (even a few months!) to adapt to their new home, so we shouldn't worry as long as she's eating, drinking, and using the litter box (which she is.) But she mostly just hangs out under my parents' bed.

She's a black domestic long hair/maine coon mix and she's SOO affectionate and sweet when she ventures out for cuddles. I'll definitely share some photos here once she's more comfortable. I haven't wanted to do kitty paparazzi with her the way I do with Arrietty (who is not only totally game for photos but is *kind of* a camera hog) just because our not-under-the-bed time is so precious, I don't want to put a camera between us when she does come out for cuddles.

Also, unrelated to the cat (if you don't count kitty kisses!) but this dress has the prettiest lip print. I posted a close-up of it on my instagram here. I've been so obsessed with lip prints this year for some reason. I got lip sunglasses, this dress, a lip print shirt, and I made these lip lapel pins. It's sure a lot of kissy stuff for a self-professed spinster, lol!

dress - c/o Joanie | collar - thread and wonder | shoes - bait footwear