Lloyd post-surgery

On Monday Lloyd spent most of the day at the veterinarian's office to get neutered. Poor guy; he was super reluctant to get into the cat carrier in the morning... you should have seen his eyes when I first pulled it out of hiding - it was clear that he was not going to make it easy for us. After Shawn and I wrestled him into the carrier though he was fine. He's been very calm at each of his vet visits; more curious than anything. I dropped him off at 8:30am and waited all morning to hear back about how the surgery went. At 2:30pm the nurse finally called me to let me know that he was doing great, he was sleeping soundly, and that everyone at the vet's office loved him, he was such a sweetheart. That made me very happy to hear!

I picked him up at 5pm (when I said I was there to pick up Lloyd the receptionist said, "Oh, Lllllooooooyyyyyd!" in such a cheerful way; the ladies just love him!) they gave me instructions to let him re-acclimate himself for an hour before feeding him, and that he might try to hide for the next two days but that's alright. They said he might also be a little 'out-of-it' for a while because of the anesthesia, but that's normal and just keep an eye on him for the next few days. Well, Lloyd is quite the trooper! He spent about fifteen minutes wobbling around the apartment and collecting his bearings before he was back to somewhat resembling his usual self. Half an hour after getting home he was already begging for food, and actually scratched my leg up pretty badly because I wasn't feeding him! So I gave in and he gobbled up his tuna dinner before passing out in silly positions all over the apartment. Every once in a while he'd wake up and lay next to me on the couch, and I even caught him playing with his toys a few times too! He hid most of yesterday morning but otherwise he's been in tip-top shape!

Here are a few photos I snapped of him on my phone on Monday; they're a little grainy because it was dark in the apartment, but they show how silly he was that day.

What a guy!

P.S. He's also put on 1.4 pounds since his last vet visit! I swear we're not feeding him too much!

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Changes up in Hair

Lately my hair has been looking grown-out and funky-colored. And by funky I don't mean in a good way... the teal faded to a gross green color and I quickly grew tired of the multi-colored hair I'd been sporting since originally bleaching the ends back in January. It was time for a change! Getting a haircut is tricky for the time being since I'm reluctant to switch hairdressers and I'd have to travel all the way back to New Jersey to see my usual guy, so I went for a different color instead.

Aside from bleaching the tips earlier this year, I hadn't dyed my hair in probably about seven years! Back in high school I used to sport red/auburn hair all the time. And I dyed it black once, but that just made me look even paler than my already pale self. But I was reading about the best way to get the blue/green color out of hair and it was suggested that red would help counteract those colors, so back to red I went! I opted for a brownish-auburn and I absolutely love the way it turned out! Unfortunately, I only have overly-lit bathroom mirror photos to show you.

For reference, this is what my hair looked like at the beginning of July, when I originally dyed it (this is post-bridesmaid hair, hence the insane fluffiness!):


I loved that color while it lasted, but it grew old fast. After my hair grew out, the line where the colors met just accentuated my chin and I found myself wearing my hair up all the time. (Which Shawn loves, by the way, but I love letting my hair down!) The auburn is a nice change but I'm still sporting multi-colored hair... see, I didn't consider the fact that my natural hair and the bleached hair would take color differently (it seems pretty silly of me to have overlooked that fact), so the top of my hair has beautiful red tones while the ends of my hair are more brown than red. And there's still a little blue-green in there but it's more of a tint than actual color now. Hopefully I can get a haircut soon - that's next on the list!

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Fun Finds Friday #31

This couple quit their jobs and built a glass house.




What if disney princesses had instagram?




The best Painted utility box I've seen!




Upcycled Domino's logo; what a great way to repurpose everything!




Dollar art; so cool!


Happy Friday!

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Farmer's Market & Basket Finds

It's been a while since my last farmer's market post, but I've been going to one of the local markets every Wednesday afternoon. I pretty much buy the same things every week: green and yellow squash, red and green peppers, tomatoes, white peaches, and blueberries. Local produce tastes so sweet!

The baskets are from Joanne Fabrics; I was there a few days ago to get some fabric for a sewing project and I happened upon a bunch of these colorful baskets in the super sale section. I thought they'd be nice to organize our fruits and vegetables, along with various things in our fridge. They've been working out quite nicely so far, and it cost me less than $5 for 7 baskets! Affordable storage is always right up my alley, especially when it's storing colorful and delicious fruit and vegetables from local farms.

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The Many Sleeping Positions of Lloyd

The Dream Trotter



The Mr. Burns



The Dead Cat



The Kangaroo



The Three-Legged Cat


and my personal favorite...

The Super Cat

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Fun Finds Friday #30

Really awesome sand art.



Sseko shoes; what a neat idea! I love getting multiple looks out of one item.



Yesterday I went to my local Paper Source and one of the ladies working there showed me how to heat emboss! (Here's a fun how-to video) I want to go back and buy the tools so I can start making fun paper crafts. It would totally step up my stationary game!


+ I've been diggin' A Cup of Jo's Motherhood Around The World series
+ I love this post about supporting local farmers and community
+ Do you know about Volvo's vacation program?

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R.I.P. Mushu

One of my family's 15-year old cats passed away this morning... after living a long and happy life, filled with love, adventure, and lots of friends (along with a few foes, as well). He was always keen on bringing us gifts of the feathered or furry variety; a natural hunter, that Mushu. We named him Mushu after the dragon character in Disney's Mulan, because of his 'asian eyes'. (Thank you, my ten year old self.) He loved to play tricks on people, often attacking when you least expected it. But he was always there for cuddles when you needed him. Although it was unexpected, I'm comforted in knowing that at least he went peacefully.

We love you, Mushu. You are missed.

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Lloyd-skies, Burger-buns, Lloyd-er-er

It's beginning to get to the point where I don't know which photos of Lloyd I've already shared on here... I take some pretty much every day so there's certainly an abundance and I've lost track. But I don't think I'm offending anyone here by posting a ton of photos of the handsome little guy, so I suppose it doesn't really matter!

Lloyd-skies, Burger-buns, and Lloyd-er-er (like loiterer) are all names I've taken to calling him. Shawn insists that his full name is Donald Lloyd Burger III. He doesn't answer to any particular one, but they're all fun to say. Kaylah did such an awesome job of naming him that Shawn and I didn't have the heart to change it... but that doesn't mean we can't do variations on it! Besides, who really ever calls their pets by their 'given' names? Nicknames are so much fun to make up!

I love that last photo; it's from Shawn's instagram feed. Whenever we're hanging out on the couch, Lloyd runs over and settles in between us. He really is part of the family now! I love it :)

Lloyd went to the vet last week and aside from a parasite that has since been treated, he's a healthy young cat. He's been much more playful since his vet visit too, so I think the parasite was making him sluggish and sleepy. The vet estimated his age to be between 1.5 and 2 years old. Kaylah had been blogging about him for almost a year and a half so I think he's closer to 2 years old, judging by her initial photos of him. Also, I know a few of you were concerned about the scabs on his nose; he got into a fight before we got him and his nose took a beating, but it's almost completely healed now. He doesn't sit in the sun much anyway, he prefers the indirect sunlight.

PS. There's a video of him playing the bag game on my instagram. We put all of his toys inside the bag and then he runs into and around it for about ten minutes or so at a time. He gets all hyped up and then scares himself silly; it's adorable.

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Fun Finds Friday #29

I've been really into air plants lately, so this week's Fun Finds Friday features air plants! Check these out, yo.

Teardrop terrarium, via



Dinosaur planter, via



Mini forest terrarium, via



Tree stump planters, via



Geometric terrarium, via


Happy Friday!!

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The B.Read List: May - July 2013

Time for the second installment of my books read lists. The list is much smaller this time, but that's because it's over a much shorter period of time. I'm still keeping up with my goal of reading at least one book per month (the count for the year so far is 12, so I'm way ahead of my goal!) but reading has slowed down a bit since we moved... I don't take lunch breaks like I used to, so I'm back to reading primarily at night and falling asleep every three pages. But hey, at least I'm reading, right?

I really enjoyed all of the books I read this time around; Seinlanguage and Descent of Man were quick easy reads to split up the larger more involved books. If you're a fan of Jerry Seinfeld then you'll enjoy his book, it's his typical humor and thought patterns. Descent of Man is a collection of short stories that are... out of the ordinary and dark. Those are my favorite kinds of short stories! I actually picked that book up at Strand Books in NYC years ago and hadn't gotten around to reading it until this year. I think I'll look into what else he has written.

Apparently I read a lot of food related books recently. Relish is a cute comic book about the author's foray into the world of food at a young age. Food and drawings - is there anything better? There was a time in my life when all I read were 'independent' comic books so I really enjoyed this one and I look forward to reading her book about her time spent in Paris, French Milk. On the other end of the spectrum there's Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain's look at what life is really like behind restaurant kitchen doors. I wouldn't recommend reading this unless you've been inside the world of food; I think it's hard to believe until you've experienced it for yourself. Then there's In Defense of Food, which I highly recommend if you have any sort of interest in what you're feeding your body. I was so moved by this book that I've actually already written a post about it here.

The Black Count was by far the longest and most involved book I've read in a long time. That's not to say it wasn't an absolutely enthralling read though! It's the story of the life of General Alex Dumas, the father of Alexandre Dumas (author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo). His novelist son based those novels off of the real life that his father led. The Black Count covers a lot of different spectrums: history, race, love, and real heroes. I say it's involved because there are so many historical facts included in the book, but it does not at all read like a history book. These are the sorts of things I wish we would have been taught about in school. Maybe I would have paid more attention in history class!

And last but not least, I'm still making my way through A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The author Donald Miller is given the chance to re-examine his life after being offered a movie deal for his successful memoir. He starts to go on all sorts of adventures, in search of turning his life into story-material instead of the boring reality he's been living. It really makes you think about what kind of story you're living.

I have a few books on queue that I recently purchased for my Kindle, so perhaps those will show up on my next B.Read list. Have you read anything interesting lately? Have any recommendations?

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Welcome, The Dainty Squid Readers!

If you've been directed over here from Kaylah's blog and you're visiting for the first time, let me just say Hello! My name is Marine and my boyfriend Shawn and I met Kaylah last weekend to take Lloyd in and give him a permanent home in Philadelphia. We're so excited to make him a part of our family; it has been an amazing experience so far! And since he has such a following, I am more than happy to give an update on his well-being and of course share lots of photos. So here's Lloyd as you've never seen him before... indoors!

When we first arrived, Kaylah had Lloyd on a leash! I knew such things existed but that was the first time I'd seen a cat on a leash in person. Lloyd walked around like a pro, curious of his surroundings but slightly frightened by all the new activity around him. Shawn comforted him with a little food and water - the little guy was thirsty! We all chatted and marveled at Lloyd for a bit and then went our separate ways. And he was such a good guy during the entire 3+ hour trip, despite already having traveled quite far before meeting us. He just napped in his carrier and stared at us through the holes, nary any complaints.

We have fallen completely in love with the little guy! Kaylah told me he was a lover, and she was right; there's really no better way to describe him. He loves to cuddle, flop, weave between our legs, and just be near us in general. He was a little hesitant to step out of the carrier at first, but Shawn coaxed him out with some more food. (That's the way to any stray's heart!) Then he spent the first day primarily in the kitchen, near the food. On the second day he started to explore the apartment a little more, and by his third day with us he had made himself at home. He's so silly! He'll spot us from across the room and then bolt over to where we are and demand attention; we've taken to calling this 'Lloyd bombing'. His favorite spots in the apartment are the bed, the rug in the kitchen, and the window ledge in the living room. When I wake up in the morning to go to work he doesn't leave my side, and after I leave he goes and lays in bed with Shawn. (Cue the collective 'Awwwww'...) It's so hard to leave for work now that he's here! We've only been in our apartment for a month but we knew what was missing as soon as we moved in. Shawn and I are so happy that Lloyd has been able to fill that role, and we're really happy that he seems happy too! Kaylah, thank you so so much for driving Lloyd halfway home. Here's to new beginnings.

Previous Lloyd-related posts:
Lloyd is here!
Lounging Lloyd

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Lounging Lloyd

Lloyd has been with us for a little over a week now, and he has taken to exploring more and more each day. You can still find him in the kitchen if we're in there though; he loves to weave between our legs whenever we're cooking something. But his favorite spots in the apartment are our large window sills in the living room, and the top of the bookcase that's between them. He sits in the window sill and watches the birds and people that walk by in our back parking lot. (And the trains, as you can see in this first photo!)

What a cutie pie! He recently discovered that he can get onto my desk from the window sill, but he has only tried it once. I hope he lays down next to my keyboard one of these days though... I'd love that! He's also loving all the plants we have around the apartment, although he has already knocked one over, along with some of our gnomes. And one of these days I'll get a proper video of the 'bag game' that we like to play with him. It basically involves us putting all of his toys inside a paper bag and watching him 'hunt' for them. He has a grand old time playing it! He also got to meet some new people last week; one of Shawn's friends came by to say hello and some of my family was here yesterday. My dad kept Lloyd entertained making mouse and bird noises at him... the little guy didn't know what to do with himself!

We're taking him to the vet later today, to make sure he's healthy and to get him up to date on all his shots... and we'll finally find out how old he is! The running guess is anywhere between 2 and 4 years old. I'll share more about all of this later in the week!

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