Aiming for thoughtful and well meaning, not always achieving it, but getting better at not repeating the actions and responses that happen out of habit. Not over thinking, not over critiquing.

August life is life-ing and this is where we are currently at.

What this bag is saying: Yeah, of course I have a Costco membership, but last year Sam’s Club had $15 memberships, so I got one for there too, now I go once a week just for the $1 soft pretzels. It also says I like eggs.

Maemae sorry you’re just a dumb little lady who doesn’t understand how completely safe and loved you are. Worst part, she’s awful cute too, looking like one of those 1960s soft sketch portraits of a towel covered baby, you know the ones you’d see on the packages of pastel colored toilet paper at your grandma’s house. (Northern Bath Tissue specifically)

We’ve tried so many recommend things to help her adjust to civilized life, we now think she just really enjoyed being wild and free. So we give her space, every window seat, every motion activated bird to murder and let her set the tone.

Mae’s origin story/family lore is constantly evolving. It usually has to do with whatever food we’re eating or item that has her super curious and engaged. Like if we’re eating takeout and she prowling around us. We’ll say.. “oh you must have grown up in the dumpster behind Chipotle, your mother was a burrito wrapper and your father smelled of onions”. The next iteration could be about a sandwich shop, or her childhood growing up in an anthropomorphized plastic bag (yeah, she grew up living in the bag, but it was also her mom), or an overly complicated back story about her early days outside a Chinese buffet. All of her beginnings are tragic, it’s the only way we can explain her F.U attitude.

This space is changing. I’m excited and absolutely dreading it. I feel like I need to pare down by half, these might be some of the hardest days of my craft life. Fully intent on not being an absolute bitch through this transition. (so I’ve told everyone)

You may not have known this about me, but I’m obsessed with good smells and smelling good. Not in a candle, air fresheners or fabric softener kind of way, I can’t handle most of those. It’s more of a really good shampoo, or a walk past the perfume counter in the mall kind of way. I’m also the one who will stop to tell you how good you smell and if it’s really really good, ask what you’re wearing. I’m not a sweet candy body spray girl, I don’t like strong musks or vanilla either and I certainly was never a yellow perfume person (I know yellow isn’t a scent, but if you like perfume you’ve probably noticed yellow colored ones can be pretty heavy). Back in 2018 this Chanel was my first yellow perfume purchase and it was incredible, I don’t think I’ve ever been complimented more on a fragrance than with this one, literally every time I wore it everyone wanted to kiss me. There are still a few sprays left in the bottle, but it’s turned a bit more old powdery Avon lady than I’d wear. I was sad to see it discontinued in 2023. The only other perfume that I was able to work my way through several bottles of before it was also sadly discontinued (WTF!) was Sheer Veil by Vera Wang (circa 2005), I wonder if current me (if I could magically smell it again) would still be madly in love with it?

Some of my past single one offs: (I was a child of the 80s) Electric Youth, Exclamation, Colors by Benetton (then had adult money in the 00s) Estée Lauder Pleasures, Clinique Happy, Ralph Lauren Romance, Tommy Girl, Le Labo Santal 33, Glossier You – I was completely anosmic (nose blind) to this, it had no smell at all to me!

Some future scents I’m curious to try: Anything from Diptyque, but specifically L’Eau Papier or Volutez, Juliette Has A Gun – Not A Perfume ..but I’ve heard it too can have a anosmic effect? There are so many intriguing scents out, I’ll take any recs you got!

Current wear (on my second bottle) and maybe my all time favorite: Dior J’adore Lumière (I think it might be called J’adore Eau de Toilette now, it’s the pink one in the ugly bottle). I sometimes wear it to bed just so I can trap it in the sheets and smell it all night long. I don’t know, there’s something romantic about being able to smell a pillow or a shirt and the lingering scent is that of someone you love.

💘

Fact 1: I grew up with my mom wearing Angel by Mugler, it’s imprinted on me, I can smell it from a mile away.

Fact 2: When I took that perfume bottle picture I was like damn that looks straight out of a magazine, good job bitch.

Fact 3: I contain multitudes and every one of them smells good.

I know, I know, but I live for the aesthetics of useful beauty in my everyday tools. Lately I’ve been buying different colors of the metal streamline hooks from Furls because they seem indestructible in comparison to the resin ones.

Old habits still get me though, how could I resist these glittery pink cream soda ones (Libra Streamline Swirl).

They look like pretty candy.

We like a little bit of everything around here and on no cook nights it’s called girl dinner aka sad girl supper. Always pickles, usually includes a hard boiled egg (not pictured), chips or crackers for crunch, walnuts for me and some kind cheese, fruit/veg of choice, currently it’s watermelon, garden tomatoes and cucumbers. That orange was crappy.

The state of my mind right now, foggy vague concepts, surface calm, somewhat translucent.

💕