Baby gadgets

OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.
Deep breaths. Wait, no. That's a lie. I'm taking shallow, panicked breaths over here.

Shall we think about something other than the rapid dismantling of human rights that is happening before our eyes?

Clover is 3 months old (and change). I am happy to report that I no longer have scary late night thoughts about dropping him or him getting hurt. I still go extra slowly and carefully when I'm carrying him down stairs, but that's just good sense.
Also, today I realized that maybe the reason that I'm shedding SO MUCH HAIR is that I didn't shed any for many months and it's all coming out now. That's a thing, right?

How about some baby related items! It seems like every time I'm around my parents or sisters they make some comment about how there are so many more gadgetty things these days than there used to be. It's hard not to take this as "you have it so easy with all of your THINGS," but I don't think they mean it that way (and that's a topic for another day).

Anyhow, a few things I like (that you definitely don't NEED, eyeroll) for a baby are:

The Puj tub. It's a little squishy, foldy uppy insert that goes into your bathroom sink. I love it. My actual bathtub is a shower/tub combo with a glass door so that means that the door and the runner thingies for the door are in the way. Plus, why would I kneel in front of the bathtub when I can stand at my sink? I dread the day my baby gets too big to bathe in the sink. But when that day does come, the Puj tub stores nice and flat!

The Binxy baby shopping cart hammock. This thing is adorable. It's a little hammock that goes in your shopping cart. It's really nice when I am buying more things than can fit in the stroller and it is RIDICULOUSLY cute. People stop and exclaim how cute my baby is, which I definitely don't mind. I mean, look:

Oh, hey also, how about that bear suit? It's adorable and soft and it fits over Clover's clothes and is easier than a blankie to keep him warm. It seems to be on clearance at Target right now. I bought one in every size.

Pregnancy purchases

While I was pregnant, I looked up various lists and asked for advice about what essential things I would need while pregnant/after giving birth. There are a few items that stand out to me as the VERY BEST ones, so I thought I'd write them down.

1. Body Pillow- In July I was about 6 months pregnant and starting to feel rather large and unwieldily. It was at that point, in fact, that I got my first "You're about the pop!" comment. Haaaa. No, sir. I have 3 months of this left. Anyhow, in July Niall asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said a body pillow. He got me this one, which I LOVE. It's like a very long, very nice regular pillow (not one of those funky shaped specifically-for-pregnancy pillows). It's memory foam with some sort of cooling technology built in which was nice for always-boiling pregnant Jules (a stark contrast from always-freezing non-pregnant Jules). I really REALLY liked this body pillow. I would wrap my arms and legs around it and I found that it provided a good amount of frontal support, which I needed more than backal support. I don't like to cuddle with a person in bed, but BY GOD I will spoon the hell out of this pillow all night long and make it breakfast in the morning.

2. Shower Chair- This was a late in the game purchase. Or, end of the game purchase. Last day of the... game... purchase, if you will. That is to say, we bought the shower chair the day I ended up going to the hospital (not the day Clover was BORN (thanks to my excessively long labor), but the last day I was home before I came home with a baby). So I was very VERY uncomfortable at that point. Anytime somebody asked me how I was feeling I always said "big and tired." I was so big and so tired. SO BIG AND TIRED. Everything at that point in pregnancy was uncomfortable and exhausting. I couldn't get comfortable lying down or sitting. I couldn't enjoy eating because everything gave me reflux. I couldn't enjoy a bath because I was too big for the tub to immerse the majority of my body in water, plus there was all the HOISTING in and out I had to do. The only things I really enjoyed were milkshakes and going to the gym. And, to be clear, by "going to the gym" I mean spending 15 mins on the cross trainer and then sitting in the hot tub. As a bonus I got to visually offend everyone around me by being an enormous angry pregnant woman in a bikini. I did get some sick pleasure out of the horrified glances I got for daring to be that pregnant and out in public. So I guess there were three things I enjoyed- milkshakes, going the gym, and scowling at everyone around me. Where was I? Right, the shower chair! I was so big and tired that taking a shower was exhausting, so I decided that I wanted a shower chair. There are fancier and nicer ones out there, but I got the regular old utility one. And it's GREAT. It's sturdy and it fits in my standard sized bathtub/shower combo. I liked it the one time I used it whilst I was pregnant, and it was ALSO good for those several weeks after giving birth when sitting down to shower was a good idea. And now it is very helpful for shaving my legs.

3. Slippers- Another item I requested for my birthday was a nice pair of slippers. Specifically, these (in purple). I actually saved those nice slippers for home use. I brought an old pair to the hospital and wore them while I walked the halls during my seemingly endless labor. They were hot pink with stars on them and actually attracted a lot of attention, so that was kind of fun. If I ever find myself in the position of planning for a hospitalization again, I will probably buy some cheapie, flamboyant slippers for this exact purpose. The pink starred ones ended up um. There was some blood dripped on them so I threw them out instead of bringing them home.

4. Momwasher- Speaking of things that have to do with blood and general grossness after having a baby, let's talk about the Momwasher! It was one of my impulse Amazon purchases that I spent gift card money on. Listen, I know it's not that much different from the squirt bottle thing they give you in the hospital, but I found the Momwasher's angle to be appreciably nicer. And when we're talking about raw, painful sensitive bits I think we can agree that even small improvements can make a significant difference.

5. Exercise Bike- WAIT! Hear me out. My husband is someone who wants to work out just about every day and I love him in spite of this. Shortly after Clover was born, Niall came up with the idea that maybe we should buy an exercise bike to have at home so that he could get his work out in while not simultaneously abandoning me with our newborn. We ended up getting this one. It folds up and stores easily in the closet. And sometimes Niall rides it while holding Clover, which is just about the cutest thing. One of these days I'll probably use it too, but riding a bicycle is literally the last thing I wanted to do after having a baby.

6. Recliner- Now this is more my speed. I decided that I wanted to get a nice, comfortable recliner for nursing the baby and probably sleeping in whilst he was very wee. I came up with a whole list of reasons and went to present them to Niall. "I think we should get a recliner," I started. "GREAT!" He said, evidently not needing to hear my very well thought out list of reasons. And that was that. We bought a recliner and it's everything I dreamed it could be.

7. Yoga ball- Or exercise ball or birth ball or whatever you call it. This was given to me by my friend D and it made a nice addition to our assortment of places for Jules to sit while pregnant. Due to the aforementioned big and tiredness, trying a variety positions/activities was a necessity. The ball D got me has sand or something inside of it which prevents it from rolling the hell away when you go to sit down on it. The closest thing I can find on Amazon is this. We still have the ball in our living room even though I'm not pregnant anymore. We like to use it for sitting or bouncing the baby or just generally cluttering up the floorspace.

Potpourri

2017 is here. And that's good. Because I feel like 2016 was a series of various sized nightmares. With the exception of the birth of my darling baby boy, 2016 can pretty much die in a fire. I'm sure I'm exaggerating. I heard there was some good news about tigers and probably other stuff also, but the election and its aftermath have pretty much broken my spirit/heart/etc. As the results rolled in, I held my three week old baby and sobbed onto his tiny, fuzzy head. "Mama's sorry" I whispered over and over. Sorry for what? Not worrying enough? Not doing enough? Bringing him into THIS world instead of a better one? Yeah, all of that. Fuck. What is 2017 and all its trappings going to bring? I'm terrified.

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I'm still mad at Google for taking away the Reader. I feel like it had a big effect on blogging, in terms of me reading them and writing in mine. And probably other people's too, I imagine. I wrote a sentence about my blogging community, but I hated that phrase so much I had to delete it. Anyhow, Niall asked me what my New Year's resolution was and I said I'd like to get back into blogging. Which, now I feel like I've set myself up for failure but whatever.

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Our other resolution is to reconfigure our living room. We have a lot of open shelving storage and lately have been looking around the room and realizing that this little pip squeak is going to be mobile in a few months and... yikes. We don't have a huge amount of space, nor can we afford to move into a larger place, so we're going to have to get creative. Part of the problem is that we use our kitchen table as a desk, so we need to somehow get both functions out of the space. We went to Ikea yesterday and bought a smaller dining set. And we ordered a rolly stand thing for the computer. Once we get those things sorted, we'll be moving the couch where the table currently is so it blocks the big bookshelves. And we need a better filing system. Better, I mean, than "put the mail and important papers in a pile and set it aside until some internal alarm goes off and then panic and find the thing."

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Is Hawaiian Punch equally bad as soda (Coke, specifically) or slightly less bad? I know it's bad, but HOW bad?

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Today is rainy and I'm extra tired for some reason and Niall is at work, so I'm sleeping when the baby sleeps. He just conked out so excuse me, the couch is calling.

get well soon gifties

My nephew has Perthes disease, which basically means the ball and socket joint of his hip grew all wonky causing the blood supply of the joint to get strangled off and the bone to start dying. It was caught pretty early in his life, thanks to his grandpa, so he's doing well.

 
A couple years ago I was driving to the hospital to visit him after one of his surgeries (he's had several major hip surgeries, poor kid). I had bought him some nice headphones, but I decided to stop at Target because I felt like I needed something else. I ended up picking out a stuffed frog.

photo from Amazon.com

He liked the headphones, but he LOVED the frog. He slept with it tucked under his arm and watched TV with it sitting next to him in bed. It reminded me that he’s a big strong kid, but even big strong kids can be comforted by a stuffed animal. I haven’t conducted extensive research on this, but I feel like a stuffed animal is kind of a universally pleasing item, especially when you’re not feeling good and/or stuck in a hospital bed.

When I stopped at Target on the way to the hospital, I also bought this game.

photo from Amazon.com

My nephew was too tired and out of it to ACTUALLY play even that game, so we modified it. He would roll the dice and it would land on a letter. Then the rest of us would have to come up with a word that started with that letter and my nephew would pick his favorite word out of all of them and the person who picked the word he liked best was the winner of that round. It was a fun for everybody and my nephew could doze in between rounds.

Something else that was a big hit with my nephew? Silly putty and a newspaper. Proving that even 10 year old boys get tired of video games eventually.

Can't go wrong with a classic blankie. Bonus points if you happen to know that VIPs at the hospital are given a specific color blanket. (Which is actually a thing, I swear.)

Another winner? A coloring book and some crayons/markers/colored pencils. I'm particularly fond of this one.

photo from Amazon.com

I use these acrylic drinking cups ALL THE TIME.

photo from Amazon.com

They are excellent for holding icy cold water (or your beverage of choice). Also, they are good if you are perhaps not operating with all of your mental faculties and more prone to spillage.

Wedding Accessories

I'm one of those girls. I didn't think I would be one of those girls, but I totally am.

I never thought I’d be someone who was into the cheesy wedding-logo crap and all of the various wedding accessories.

I don’t know why I didn’t think I would be this type of person. The signs were all there—I went to Australia and bought six or seven Australia tee shirts and a boomerang, I went to USC and now own one of pretty much everything they sell with USC stamped on it. I’ve actually had to hold myself back from buying a USC trailer hitch cover, and my car does not even have a trailer hitch. Evidently I am someone who likes having the THING and also all of the accessories with it.

But for some reason I got up on my high horse about silly weddingy stuff. I used to think, "Oh, I'm superior to all of that nonsense. I don't need a big flowy dress and a tiara and who wears those stupid "bride" tee shirts anyhow?"

ME that's who. Because I’m EXACTLY the person for whom they market this crap.

Apparently.

I DO need a big flowy dress AND a tiara.

And this bedazzled BRIDE hoodie.

And these white flip fliops, for pre-wedding pedicures.

And some of these tee shirts for my bridesmaids (have I mentioned that my bridesmaids are my 4 oldest nieces? NIECEMAIDS.)

And this honeymoon tee shirt.

And this super awesome USC garter which is, like, a magical compilation of my current interests.

And these forks, for the wedding cake.

I also think I need these cups.

This might be getting out of hand.

My name is Superjules and I have an accessory-buying problem.

15. go backpacking

When I wrote this list item, I think I meant that I wanted to go on one of those trips where you hike out to where you are camping and wear a big backpack with all of your supplies.

Well, screw that, me of the past.

On my trip to Ireland (yes, evidently you’ll be hearing a lot about this. Sorryish), I knew I would want to carry around a… bag of some sort. I bought this purse at Ross because I thought it would be big enough and was also cute. But then I hemmed and hawed over it for ages until I finally realized I couldn’t convince myself to like it and I should just return it. So I did. And in a stroke of sheer brilliance I searched for “day pack” on Amazon, and lo! I found a whole world of lightweight, durable, folduppable backpacks! I ordered myself a hot pink one and used it the whole time I was in Ireland, exclaiming to Niall at least daily “Have I mentioned how much I love my backpack?” and he would wearily nod his head.

See what I did there?

I still use it on the weekends now that I’m home. It’s excellent for shopping or errands because I can have my hands free, and it’s great for bringing an extra layer or several since I tend to get cold. It was also oddly comforting to have the other day when I went to my trauma survivors speakers’ board meeting; putting it on felt like I was getting a little hug. Or perhaps I really have gone insane. Whatever. We’re all just going to have to accept that Julia? Comes with a bag!

I’ve affectionately nicknamed it my pa-pack because that’s what my 2 year old niece called it. It’s… probably cuter when she says it.

Shopping Trip

I knew traffic was going to be terrible so I stopped at Ross on my way home from work tonight. Oh darn.

Question: Do I need this extremely practical travel purse? Hear me out. I'm going on a trip to Ireland in May and I'm thinking maybe I do. I like that it has a shoulder strap and a zipper. My regular purse is of the over-one-shoulder variety and I'm thinking perhaps I'll need my hands free to hold my beer and pet the sheepies. Anyway I bought it. It was $40, which is a bit steep at Ross, but it's The Sak and seems to be leatherish and sturdy and I dunno I just like it. For traveling! See the handy passport pocket?

Quarter for scale

I also bought a dress for my sister. I had sent her an orangey-pink dress for her baby and she was really excited when she first pulled it out of the box, "Oooh, it's just my color! I lo- oh, wait." So anyhow I saw this dress today and I thought maybe she'd like it.

I also got her this little floofy sweatery thing.

Not to wear together, but knowing my sister she actually might. I usually don't buy clothes for people that they wouldn't be able to return, but my sister kind of lives in the middle of nowhere and I want to send her a dress. I realized that I like the picking out and sending enough to justify the fact that it might not work out every time. I'm sending my sister these things and maybe it'll fit and she'll love it, or maybe not. And if not she can give them away to somebody else or cut them up to make new playclothes for the Von Trapps or whatever.
Even if I bought her a dress from Macy's where they have a great return policy she still wouldn't be able to return it for months since she lives nowhere near a Macy's of any sort. The point is that I thought of her and sent her something I thought she'd like and that makes me feel good, so yay. (It's this logic that led me to buy my other sister a purple dress from Belk when I was in Carolina.)

Worky Clothes

So I was looking back through my archives and I noticed when I first started my job I wrote about the outfits I was wearing to work. I thought it might be fun to do that again now that I’ve been there, wait for it, TWO WHOLE YEARS. Two years! That’s some seriously legit employment. For me, anyway.

I don’t recall if I explained this at all but in order to hire me my workplace had to actually have me come on as an RN and then transition into the role of NP. My current position is still somewhat a combination of the two (but I have learned that the profession of nursing is so broad that it encompasses quite the assortment of types of jobbies). The point is that I’ve had a couple different job titles and with those job titles comes different ensembular expectations.

When I first started at my job I did the New Job Dress to Impress thing until my supervisor asked me why I didn't wear scrubs like a nurse. So I wore scrubs like a nurse. About five months later my job title and requirements changed, so it was back to business casual for me. That was fun for about two days and then I started running out of options and realizing how persnickety I am about my clothes. I always have to wear an undershirt uh.. under my shirt and tucked into my pants. Should it ever come untucked from my pants, HEADS WILL ROLL. I cannot have the tops of my shoes showing, even sitting down they should be covered by my pants (by this I mean the tops, like the… mouth(?) of a boot, not, like everything except for the sole). I can neither be too hot nor too cold and I need to have the option of removing/donning layers. Mainly my rotation of outfits consisted of slacks with niceish tops and cartigans and it was a bit of a pain to remember that this sweater would go with this top but oh that one is dirty and I don't have the right shoes and why did I wear short/long sleeves today and these pants are too floody.

And then one day whilst I was pawing through my closet, I rediscovered leggings. Leggings are comfortable!, I realized. And leggings work with boots and dresses. So now, a year or so later, I think I have nearly perfected my work uniform. On any given day I can usually be found wearing some combination of long sleevie dress plus leggings plus boots.
Examples!

These are actually tights.

The long sleeves are for covering my tattoo.

Red leggings!

Long sleevie dress plus leggings plus boots = actual work OUTFITS.

Outfits I can actually, like, put together.

Yeah, I'm getting the hang of this.

Once I started looking, I was surprised at how many long sleevie dress options I could find (at Ross and Marshalls).

Don't I look somewhat put together? Ish?

Best Tings

(My nephew pronounces things as "tings," which I find pwecious.)

I figured that instead of keeping everything in the survey, I might as well make separate posts for the things I REALLY want to talk about. So, the best things I have bought in the past year. They are, in no particular order: my Christmas tree, my Dr. Scholl’s Fast Flats, my nasal rinse bottle, Rubik’s Twist, and a maid service.

First, the nasal rinse bottle. Sometimes I get sick. And sometimes I get sinussy grossness that comes with being sick. And in the past I’ve managed this with hot tea, steamy showers, and feeling sorry for myself. There are people who swear by that Neti pot thing and it kind of scares me. I can’t get over the mental hurdle of POURING water up my nose. I feel like I would drown. So when I learned there was a squeeze bottle that used the same concept of flushing out one’s sinuses, I gave it a whirl. And it’s great! I love it! As much as one can love something that involves squirting warm salty water up one’s nose.

Getting a Christmas tree has really become an expense I can justify, even though I live alone. The cost and hassle and the feeling like I shouldn’t bother getting one because it’s just ME and what does anything matter is fully eclipsed by the fact that I HAVE A CHRISTMAS TREE! HOORAY! CHRISTMAS TREE! It just kicks up my general mood and Christmas spirit and it looks so pretty in my house with all the lights and ornaments and it makes me HAPPY. So, sixty bucks for huge booster shot of happiness in the winter? Sold. 

Speaking of Christmas, let me tell you about the Rubik’s Twist! I had seen it before on a couple of Swistle’s gift idea lists and I always kind of thought meh, I don’t really LIKE Rubik’s cubes. And then when I saw it was more something you PLAYED with, I thought well then what’s the point? Oh how wrong I was. I have a bunch of nieces and nephews ranging from age 1.5 to 14 years and the majority of them are on the upper end of that age range. I feel like they are getting more difficult to shop for-- I can’t just Melissa and Doug everyone and call it a day. So I re-perused Swistle’s lists and ended up buying Rubik’s Twists for a couple of my nieces and nephews and they were SUCH A HIT that I ordered more of them so that we could reduce the household bickering (sometimes *I* wanted to play with one and NOBODY WOULD LET ME). Anyway, two thumbs up for the Rubik’s Twist. Who knew? (Swistle knew.)

Right before Christmas I went to Vegas (with the boyfriend (BOYFRIEND)) to watch my USC Trojans beat Fresno State the Royal Purple Bowl (Sidebar: remember when I called this blog Royal Jewels?). ANYWAY, Vegas involved a lot of partying in dainty high heels, and then jumping up and down at the football game and walking walking walking A LONG WAY (part of the way) back to our hotel afterward and then some walking down the strip just to walk some more for good measure. And so my feet, they did not want to wear my heels OR my boots anymore. We stopped in at Walgreens and I bought THESE:

They are some seriously awesome emergency flats. I wore them out that night and I kept exclaiming “I love these shoes, have I mentioned that?” Which, yes. I had mentioned it. I’ll be bringing them everywhere with me from now on because they fold up so tiny and cute in their wristlet that they basically take up NEGATIVE space in my bag.

And finally, maid service. A couple weeks after I had recovered from my little skin issue, my mom said to me “I’m thinking we should get someone into your apartment to, you know, really CLEAN it.” It sort of made me feel like my mom thought I caught Butt MRSA because I live in squalor and filth, but whatever! You want to hire a maid service to come clean my home? I won’t be fighting you on that. So they came the one time and then I decided to have them come back once a month because OMG having someone else clean my house is just the best thing ever. I CAN clean my home. I have the skills. But it won’t all be clean at the same time and I just don’t do things like dust the shelves or steam mop the floor. Not going to happen. And coming home from work to a clean apartment and a made bed is just delightful.

Potpourri

I bought so much felt food today that I could almost host a felt dinner party!
That was the sentence that I wanted to start this post with in order to explain that, hey everyone, I bought a whole bunch of felt food today that I'll be giving to my nieces for Christmas. But then I realized that's... pretty much it.

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I don't know how to tell this story without making myself sound lame and incompetent, but here it is anyhow: I got a needlestick last week. We had a patient come in who was having knee pain so the doctor decided we should aspirate the fluid from the joint. I was all sterile techniquing and prepping the area and whatnot and then the doctor handed me the (sterile) needle and the (sterile and empty) syringe and said "Okay now you have to make sure that the needle is on really tight because if you have an air pocket you won't get any fluid when you pull back." So I diligently grasped the needle and the syringe, attached them together, and then gave them a good twist to make sure they were nice and tightly fitted together.
And then my hand slipped and the cap came off and the needle jabbed THROUGH MY THUMB and into my palm and all of a sudden I was standing there with a bare needle in one hand and a handful of blood in the other and it was all just a crappy week from that point on.

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I was driving yesterday and I said to my boyfriend (yep, boyfriend. I'll have to tell you more about him later!) "Hey, I think that's the pawn shop where I sold some of my jewelry." And he said "Well, that's kind of sad." And I've been thinking about it and I guess it is sort of sad. Except for it was a couple of years ago and it wasn't any, like, heirloom or something from my parents. It was actually just some jewelry from an ex. I didn't wear it and I needed the money so I sold it and I don't regret doing so.
This has gotten me thinking about a couple other things. Ex boyfriend KC painted me a picture of my cat for Christmas a couple years ago and then got it all fancy framed for me. Which, at the time was nice except that it wasn't a surprise since he painted it in my apartment and also I later found out that back when he was with his ex girlfriend he had painted a picture of her cat and presented it to her as a gift and also that her painting included a love note written on the back. I wasn't sure which one to be more upset about at the time-- the fact that that mine did not include a love note or the fact that the painting itself was a RECYCLED GIFT IDEA. But I digress.
Anyhow I still have the thing, it's sitting in my storage locker and I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm not going to give it back to KC, who I haven't seen or talked to in two years. I'm not going to give it to the Goodwill because I don't want someone to buy it and have a portrait of MY cat in their house, but I also don't want to throw it away because it's of my CAT and if I'm superstitious at all (which I am) I feel like that might invite bad karma onto him or something. It's also not the best painting of a cat you may have ever seen-- he took a photo of Bowie and then enlarged it, and then traced it on a canvas and then sharpied a grid and used the grid as a guide for where to paint the colors, which means that you can see a grid in the background of the painting.
Relatedlyish, there was a dude I dated for a little bit who brought me a painting of a bicycle and then asked me to shave his back. I actually like the painting-- it is of an old-timey bicycle with, y'know, the HUGE front wheel. So I like it because it's quirky and looks like something I might have picked out for myself and I thought I might just be able to forget about the guy and his odd body hair request, but... Okay no. I just decided that I'm not going to keep it. Okay, is anybody in the market for a portrait of my cat and a painting of a bicycle?
I feel like I should circle back around here and point out that current boyfriend is a good gift-giver. He's also nice to me. Smiley face, etc.

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I started taking my nieces and nephew to the flea market which is a win-win because I get to hang out with them and I also get to go to the flea market. At first they were shy to talk to the booth owners but now they're total pros, "How much is this? Oh fifteen dollars you say? I'll give you eight." I STILL sometimes get flustered and embarrassed when I try to haggle "Twenty dollars? Ummmmmm. Yeah okay. Here. [Runs away]", so it looks like this is yet another way that my nieces and nephews are cooler than I will ever be.

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Whenever my dad goes to Starbucks for my mom he says his name is "Pete" in the hopes that someday someone will call out "Pete's coffee!"

Grandfather Clock

I went to a barn sale a few months ago, which is sort of like a yard sale, only all the stuff has all been stored in a barn for a long long time.

And I bought this beauty:

Oh that? Is a life-size grandfather clock latch hook rug that someone obviously spent a heck of a long time making. I fished it out of a heap of stuff in the "Fill a box for $5" section of the sale.
And then I spent, erm, too much money having it framed:

And the other day I hung it up in my entryway:

As a sidenote, how 'bout my wee entryway? Do you see why when people ask me where the bathroom is, I tell them "Well, it's the only door in the apartment that doesn't lead to the hall."
Now I have a grandfather clock in my entryway, in the most ridiculous, kitschy, tacky way there possibly is to have a grandfather clock in one's entryway. And that just tickles me.
I love my new decorative piece; it really is timeless. ZING.

estate sale birthday gifty

My niece, Princess's birthday is rather close to Christmas. When everyone was home for Thanksgiving she handed out her bday/xmas list:

The fact that she wrote "No Broken Bones" is appropriate because she has spent many a holiday in a cast, having broken one arm twice and the other three times. I initially thought "Lite Sprite" just meant Diet Sprite which, great! Easy! You want one case or three? But, no, actually it's a gimmickey toy with a very attractive commercial, apparently. I actually got into a rather heated discussion with my relatives about what "Password Journal" was referring to. THEY thought that it meant a journal where you keep all your passwords. *I* thought it meant a journal that you couldn't access unless you had the password. I feel like there's an obvious winner of that debate, but we never did confirm with Princess.

My favorite part of the list (aside from the fact that she hand wrote copies for everybody and laminated it with tape) is the note "[Princess] will enjoy any gift, even if it is not on the list. I LOVE YOU." Awwww. Hopefully she'll enjoy my present-- I bought it at an estate sale a couple weeks ago. I had been wanting to go to an estate sale for ages but I had a hard time finding listings for ones that were NOT full of priceless antiques or fine Victorian furniture. But then I looked on, duh, Craigslist (you just go to the 'items for sale' section and type in "estate sale" into the search bar). I was nervous to go to the estate sale, because it is at somebody's HOUSE and that makes me anxious, but it was actually fun. There were tons of other people there so I didn't feel weird about rifling through this lady's possessions. Plus, it was neat to get a feel for the person who had lived in the home and owned the things. I felt like maybe she would have been happy to know that her items were going to people who wanted and enjoyed them.

Anyhow, I bought this for my niece:

It's a little basketty purse thing, with an adorable strawberry design.

And it has a red checkered interior.

(I also got her those socks; she loves long socks.)

I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy it, even though it wasn't on the list.

Christmas Cheer

LOOK WHAT I BOUGHT TODAY!

Sorry for shouting. BUT I AM EXCITED! A Christmas tree! Of my very own!
I went to work today (I've been doing observations/data collection in a nursing home for the past couple weeks, as a nurse researcher on a short term project) and I learned that we're finishing up on Friday but they're going to pay us for an extra eight hours since we have been so awesome and efficient. And THEN I figured that if I bought a Christmas tree at the Delancey Street Foundation lot then I would be giving my money to an organization that does good work and that I like and support. So then, as I was driving home, I happened to pass by one of the lots and I impulse bought a tree!

Except that the lot wasn't on my way home and I had to leave and hit the ATM really quick because I hadn't realized that they didn't take credit cards. So I suppose it was premeditated Christmas tree buying after all.

When I got home, I manhandled the tree into my house all by me onesie, and then got out my storage bin of Christmas decorations.

I trimmed the tree.

I don't have a star yet, so the sparkly peace sign is substituting for the time being. Those bells are camel bells my parents brought from their trip to Israel last summer. The picture frame has a photo of Bowie in it. And the ballet slippers are a nod to my mom's traditional Christmas tree topper-- a ballerina.

And I set up the rest of the decorations.

Things are looking (and smelling) mighty festive around here. I'm so glad I talked myself into getting a tree. It was totally worth it.

Jewelry Suitcase

I bought this mini suitcase at the flea market a couple months ago.

For various reasons, I'm telling you about it now! Okay, I'll tell you the reasons, too: I bought it the last time KC and I went to the flea market together, and then we came home and broke up. The next day, finding something to do with my new mini suitcase was the only productive thing I accomplished and so posting about it fell by the wayside. Until now! Isn't it cute? I heart it.

I love the wavy diamond pattern and the diamond mirror.

I never really liked my old jewelry box. It was one that a friend gave me when she was cleaning out her garage. I don't have a photo of it, so you'll have to take my word for it that it was big and clunky and not pretty. But it was functional, so it actually hadn't occurred to me to replace it until I was staring around my apartment, trying to decide which place of honor to bestow upon the mini suitcase. So I emptied it out and put it in the Goodwill pile.

Then, I transferred my baubles and jewels into the suitcase...

... and now it lives atop my bookshelf!

I couldn't neatly pack ALL my jewelry into the suitcase, so I added a supplementary Pyrex dish for my fun, more durable earrings (I already owned the necklace stand). Whaddaya think?

Christmas Shopping: Antiques Faire

Yesterday I went to the Alameda Antiques Faire to do some Christmas shopping, and I also gave myself permission to buy holiday decoration items if I found any I particularly liked. I have decided not to get a Christmas tree this year, but I still want my home to look festive. Actually, one might say I'm still on the fence about whether or not to get a Christmas tree this year. It would probably be better not to since I shouldn't spend the money, I don't have anybody to help me with the hauling and weaving it through my entryway, and I will probably be spending a big chunk of time at my parents' house which will undoubtedly have a mammoth Christmas tree. I shouldn't get one. Shouldn't. But, man, it was SO GREAT having a Christmas tree last year. It made my apartment look so festive and cheery. Plus, I have a big cardboard box of Christmas gifties and a pile of toys in the corner of my living room which would certainly look less clutter-esque with a Christmas tree to tie the room together. But, no. I shouldn't.

Where was I? Oh, right. The Antiques Faire! For my mom, who loves wee dishes AND blue and white china patterns, I bought this.

It was made by Spode, if you are into dishware and that means anything to you.

I'm realizing it probably looks to be a regular sized gravy boat in the photo, but actually it is very wee!

For my two littlest nieces, I picked up an assortment of knicky knackies.

I gave one girl a Matryoshka doll for her birthday recently and she liked it a lot, so I figured the other girl might like one, too.

I'll probably keep my eye out for some more little animals.

From the $1 bin, I bought some pretty scarves.

I like to use them for wrapping gifts because, at this juncture in my life, buying wrapping paper feels like throwing money away. Plus, I find it easier to store a pile of small, foldable scarves than a tube of paper that will fall over every time I open my closet.

I managed to find a couple things for myself. Oops.

That's a wee little tray ($2), a decorative chicken hangy uppy thing ($4), and an enamel pot/jug of some sort ($25, down from $40). The woman who sold me the enamel... vessel (?) said she thought it was for pouring batter. I think it looks pretty on my stove. I'm going to hang up the chicken in the kitchen, because Kitchen Chicken is fun to say.

I also found THE BEST SKIRT IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD.

It's from the 70s, if you haven't guessed.

The woman who sold it to me made me try it on first, to prove I could fit into it. "I've had SO MANY people want to buy this skirt." I managed to wrestle it on by taking off my own skirt, pulling it over my leggings, and hefting it up to my natural waist.

Yesterday was apparently Rainbow Clothing Day, because I also scored this crocheted sweater thing.

The color came out kind of weird because it's a cell phone picture. I did my best to correct it to as close as the actual sweater colors as possible.

Yes, I'm still rockin the side braid.

I found a holiday wreath!

Do you spy that photo of my mom and me when I was tiny enough to fit in my own Christmas stocking?

I've always liked those fabric wreaths.

This wooden tree was marked $24, but as I was standing there admiring it the owner said all the Christmas stuff was half off. Score. I also bought four Christmassy cups, for holiday decoraty purposes.

On my ever-growing list of things to do I have "Get Xmas box" (that holds my ornaments and other festive decor items (I'll probably need a bigger box after this year)) from the storage cage downstairs. And maybe re-ponder the whole Christmas tree idea one more time.

Recent Purchases

Recent flea marketing excursions have returned many lovely treasures.

I seem to have a container-buying compulsion. But, pretty! Look how pretty!

I could keep any sort of collection of tiny objects in them: buttons, toothpicks, paper clips, uh... jewelry, beads, kitty toys, ummm... other stuff.

This I will admit that I bought purely for aesthetic purposes. I don't intend to spend the time or money getting the clock to actually run because I feel like ticking of any sort would drive me into a Captain Hook-esque frenzy.

You think that's cuckoo? Maybe YOU are the cuckoo one. The clock will be right at least two times per day, ever think of that?

I fished this pot out of a jumble of assorted cooking supplies and also managed to find a lid that fits. I don't think it is the original lid, but that's okay.

 

 It definitely goes with my retro kitchen style.

I thought this little box was cute. And bonus! It has six coasters inside.

For all of my coasting needs.

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On a completely different note, but still falling into the 'recent purchases' category, I bought some toys today. They're for the tots.

I recognize that Christmas is a long way off, but Swistle gave me a good idea with her spreading-out-gift-card-purchases plan for the holidays. Last year I bought a whole buncha toys all at once, which was fun and I didn't have a whole heck of a lot of other options since it was already so close to Christmas by the time I decided to donate toys. This year, I'm going to try and spread it out better, for ease-on-the-wallet-and-transporting-home purposes. So I started today. The local Walgreenses in San Francisco seem to have this great toy deal every year wherein you buy two toys and then get a third for free, which works out to about $5 per toy. They seem to be pretty good quality, or at least BETTER quality than one might expect for a $5 toy. And SOMEtimes the deal switches to buy one get one free, but if I remember correctly that was a lot closer to Christmas and there was less variety of toys and more people grabbing at them. Today the store was nice and empty, with lots of different toys to choose from and plenty of room for me to stack them in the aisle while I made my decision.

Tea for Two

A few weeks ago my sister told me that as long as I'm poking around at thrift stores and flea markets I might as well look for a tea set for her. She'd been wanting a tea set, she told me, the real china kind.
 "I think it would be fun for serving tea when my friends come over."
"Oh, do you serve tea when your friends come over?"
"No... but if I had a tea set I might!"
She explained that she was looking to spend somewhere in the under twenty dollar range. She'd like a nice, grown up lady tea set with a cream pitcher, sugar bowl, teapot, teacups, and saucers. Basically, the works... for under twenty dollars.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

So I've been keeping an eye out for tea serving accessories at various flea markets and thrift stores. I found standalone teapots and teapots with matching cream pitchers and sugar bowls. I found dishware sets with teacups and saucers. But I did not find a tea set with all of the elements present.
I talked to my sister again and she clarified that she wanted a teapot, cream pitcher, sugar bowl, and teacups but they did not all have to match. I could buy the different parts of the tea set separately. My GOAL was still to find a whole complete tea set, but I realized this might not be possible, especially under twenty dollars. Most of the dishware sets I had seen with teacups and saucers (with or without cream pitchers and sugar bowls) were in the FIFTY dollars and up range because they were whole sets with bigger plates and meant to be used as one's fancy dishes. Plus, the prettier they were, the more expensive they were.

I found this at a thrift store last weekend.

I was about to buy it but then I noticed that the teapot was chipped. Plus, ehh, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

And then, AND THEN I went back to the Barn Sale on Sunday. KC and I came away with a ridiculous amount of stuff. He selected a trunk (for his linens), a bunch of planters (for his plants) and children's books (for his nephews) while I chose some little knickey knackies for my nieces and nephew (party favors for my sister's birthday) and yet another pretty canister to feed my pretty canister habit. They also had a section of 'fill a box for five bucks' which yielded some... very interesting finds.
And then I came across some cardboard boxes on the ground that appeared to contain dish sets-- dish sets with pretty little teacups, saucers, and cream pitchers and sugar bowls. I asked the lady how much they were and snapped up the cheapest one.

The set I bought included a cream pitcher, a sugar bowl, and EIGHT teacups and saucers. It also came with some bowls and larger plates. The set is Mikasa brand and everything appears to be in good condition (no chips or cracks), and it is a pretty pink flowery pattern. And the price? Fifteen dollars. WHICH IS BASICALLY A SONG.

Wanna see?

Pretty!

Those blue plates in the back aren't part of the set-- they're my mom's plates.

The set didn't include a teapot, but I knew I wouldn't find such a screaming deal anywhere else. And I figured I could find a teapot that was sort of matchy or at least coordinated somewhere.
Annnnd I just happened to find myself at Out of the Closet the other day (in search of a battery operated alarm clock and a sweatshirt) and I found a little teapot for two dollars and fifty cents.

I haven't actually seen the teapot and the rest of the set together since I left the Mikasa dishes at my parents' house for when my sister comes by, but I think it coordinates nicely.

This was a fun little project-- I like having a goal when I go to thrift stores and flea markets and I like buying things for other people that they like. Also, it seems that when the shopping goal is for someone else I am more patient and less irritable. When I'm searching for something for ME it can get a tad annoying because where the hell are all the handkerchiefs and why does the universe haaaate meeeeeee?

Total price- $17.50.
Tea Set Challenge- SUCCESS.