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Fun Finds Friday #100

Friday, July 31


Furniture for cats and humans; such a neat idea!



An affordable t-shirt dress. (+35% off right now!)



These are too cool!!!


+ I've been thinking about adding in a little lavender/pink at my next hair appointment...
+ John Stewart is the best! He's turning his farm into a sanctuary for rescued animals.
+ Not even sure what to say about this.
+ Borders are pretty cool to look at.
+ Can I please stay at this hotel?
+ These photos are a little ridiculous. (Probably NSFW)
+ Who else here was a fan of Wishbone? Ha!
+ While we're on the subject of dogs...

Happy Friday!!!

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Closet Evolution

Wednesday, July 29

One of the best things about working in a kitchen is not having to think about what to wear every day - my uniform consists of black pants, a solid colored t-shirt, and non-slip shoes. I throw my hair up into a bun, and getting dressed for work takes me less than five minutes. But this also means that I have a closet full of clothes at home that are just sitting there, rarely being worn. When I worked at Anthropologie, I spent so much time thinking about what to wear; and between the outfit, the hair, and makeup, I would spend over an hour getting ready for work every day! Inevitably, I also bought a lot of clothing on a whim, just because I could and because I was around it all the time. I've since muddled down my closet and have been working towards building my staple wardrobe. I've been:

- Gradually downsizing my closet. When you rarely get to wear things, you realize which pieces you tend to gravitate towards. So I've been removing all the excess pieces that don't get worn, and taking stock of what kinds of pieces I do wear. I'm trying to keep only things that bring me joy, but I'm also trying to be realistic about each piece's role in my closet.

- Realizing that my perfect closet is forever evolving. Just because a piece was right for me two years ago, doesn't mean it's still right for me this year. As I evolve as a person, my style evolves along with me. Trying to hold onto pieces just because I loved them once-upon-a-time serves no purpose, to me, or my closet. And I can't dwell on the pieces I get rid of.

- Filling in the gaps. Now that I've gotten rid of unnecessary items, I'm noticing holes in my wardrobe; basic pieces that were missing the entire time but I didn't realize it because my closet had so many other things in it. Now I have a mental list of what pieces I need and when I shop, I only look for those things specifically.


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

All of this to say, the closet gap I've been trying to fill lately is blouses. I have a lot of casual tops but I don't have any summer blouses. Thus, I end up not wearing any of my skirts because I want to wear them with something a little nicer than a t-shirt. I was browsing online the other day and stumbled upon Modcloth's Wear to Work collection. I love the vintage feel of a lot of the pieces, and it made me long for a job where I get to dress up again. Don't worry - I'm not quitting my kitchen job! (I love it far too much!) But I am considering adding one or two of those blouses to my closet, to fill that blouse gap. I'm also eyeing up that dress and those shoes, but those aren't on my mental list of pieces I need, so for now, they'll just live on in this wish list.

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Happy Birthday, Lloyd!

Monday, July 27



Today marks two years since we brought Lloyd home!
Last year's birthday post says it all.















Happy birthday, little bear! We love you so much!!

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Project 365, 194-206

Sunday, July 26

I am a week behind on these, so here's two weeks worth of photos. The delay is because I couldn't get my phone to sync with my computer last week. I have been uploading things via wi-fi using AirDroid, but we moved our router recently and it stopped working for me. So I decided to plug my charger cord into the computer instead... something I hadn't done since I initially got the phone over a year ago and had subsequently found out they wouldn't sync. Well, lo-and-behold, with all the system updates since then, the phone connected to the computer without any trouble. So, there's that.

Also! I finally purchased www.picturesandparagraphs.com, so update your feed readers! It should automatically re-direct you regardless, but I thought I should make an announcement nonetheless... it has been a long time since I've had a proper domain name, but Pictures & Paragraphs is here to stay for a while, so it's only appropriate that I give this blog the home it deserves.


194/365: Kaylah had another printed pouch sale and I was actually home to purchase one before they sold out! Now if only I can figure out what to put in it....



195/365: I needed to return something to Anthropologie so I took the train to the one downtown and treated myself to a drink and fries at Village Whiskey. Maybe it's strange, but I actually really enjoy spending a few hours downtown by myself and having lunch alone. It's relaxing.


196/365: Not really sure what to say about this one. Lloyd loves that box.


197/365: My bridesmaid dress needed some tailoring, so I took it upon myself to bring in a few other things that have also been needing tailoring... I've had that blazer for over 5 years now and it has never fit. Now it does! Also, I am definitely not short on summer dresses.


198/365: I love the colors of summer vegetables!


199/365: Especially when they're used to top tacos. I have been on a taco kick lately; I want tacos every damn day! And yes, I totally styled this photo.


200/365: Just the view from the bar at work. Having a post-shift brew!


201/365: I cleaned out some of the drawers in my desk... So Much Stationary.....


202/365: Hey guys, it's not like I'm trying to prep fabric for sewing or anything.


203/365: "What do you mean I'm not supposed to be on the coffee table?!"


204/365: Shawn drew some of his strange little monsters on our kitchen window. They make cool reflections!



205/365: Hm. I don't think it's good etiquette to bring a baby to the pub.


206/365: I spent ten minutes looking for Lloyd before work... sneaky little guy.

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Fun Finds Friday #99

Friday, July 24


This cactus pincushion DIY is too cute!!



The coolest dinosaur skeleton necklace I've seen.



I only have one non-gauged ear piercing, so a stud dome would be mighty handy.


+ An awesome map for Philly dwellers, or visitors.
+ The ten benefits of having a cat.
+ Comedians talk about the greatest jokes ever told.
+ A good reminder for us all.
+ This time lapse video reminds me how inconsequential most of life is and that we should appreciate this beautiful planet we inhabit.
+ The OCD in me shudders at this.
+ I want to go to a fox village!!

Happy Friday!!!

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Lately....

Thursday, July 23

So.... things have been quiet on the blog this week because I can't seem to upload my photos onto my computer! We switched the location of our wireless router and now my phone won't sync up with my computer anymore. And my computer doesn't recognize it when it's plugged in, so.... yeah. I'll figure something out. In the mean time, here's what I've been up to lately.


Watching:
Sightseers - I had come across the trailer for this some time last year, and then it was brought to my attention more recently when I saw it mentioned by another blogger... then I found out it was on Netflix so Shawn and I settled in to watch it on our last day off together. It had a slow start and the story was quite awkward, but that seems to be the case with most independent films. I would say it's worth a watch though!
The One That I Love - After the aforementioned movie, I told Shawn about this one, which I had watched by myself months ago. Netflix has it listed as a comedy, but it's more of a romantic sci-fi thriller. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, and Shawn did too, as I suspected.
Love, Lust, or Run - Makeover shows are my guilty pleasure (whether they come in the form of mis-dressed people or renovated houses), and What Not to Wear was my absolute favorite back in the day. Imagine my delight when I heard that Stacy London is now hosting a new show, similar to WNtW but also a spin off of the BBC's Snog, Marry, Avoid. I've caught every episode on YouTube, since we don't have cable. I love and hate that the episodes are only 20 minutes long.

Reading:
I'm still working my way through my bookcase. About a month or so ago I started reading The Master and Margherita, but I just could not get into it. I read about 35 pages and then decided that was enough. I don't usually do that with books, but I really didn't feel like wasting my time with this one. I'm actually a little offended because it was given to me in high school by a friend under the pretense that I "would really love it". Hm, maybe that friend didn't know me very well after all. So I picked up The Perks of Being a Wallflower instead and have been breezing through that. It's fun to re-read books I read as a teenager- they're easy to get through, and I don't feel bad donating them afterwards. If something has been sitting on my bookshelf for that long, I might as well re-read it before giving it away!

Offline:
The most exciting thing in my life right now is that my dad bought me plane tickets to visit them in Madrid in October! We'll also be spending a weekend in Barcelona (I booked accomodations on airbnb; we'll be staying here!) - I can't wait! I've never been to Spain before, so getting to see two major cities in one trip is a big deal. The only downside is that my passport expires at the end of the year and I need to renew it before my trip. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but since I'm a French citizen, I have to go to either the French Consulate in DC or in New York to do this, since the Philadelphia location doesn't deal with passports. So now I'm looking at a day trip (or two) just to do that. But, it's totally worth the hassle! At least, I'll be thinking that in October once my feet are on Spanish soil....

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Fun Finds Friday #98

Friday, July 17


I fell in love with the light in this house.



Madewell is having a huge sale right now and I kind of love this top... (that whole outfit, actually!)



The perfect blend of simple and statement.


+ LEGO is making the switch to using more sustainable materials.
+ Do you need ridiculous cat-themed gear? Don't we all?!
+ Stupid food packaging. I can't stand any of those things!
+ French words and phrases that we need in English. So true.
+ A cute reminder that sometimes less is more.
+ The brain science behind why people do yoga is pretty interesting.
+ I discovered this blog today, and I can't stop going through the archives!

Happy Friday!!!

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The Cat Life - Inner Artist

Thursday, July 16






When my parents most recently came to visit, my mother sent me home with some of my (very) early artwork that she had recently come across at my grandparents' house. She figured I would have fun going through it. I started to pick through it at home the next day... I placed the first painting on the ground, looked away to see the next one, and when I looked back a few seconds later, Lloyd was laying on the first painting. He stayed there for a few hours that day, and would have stayed there longer if Sylvester hadn't come up and tromped all over the painting to settle in next to him. Sylvester isn't as skilled in the delicacies of being a gentle walker. But hey! My childhood artwork is cat-approved!

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Project 365, 187-193

Wednesday, July 15

187/365: I've been playing around with different hairstyles, but I can't see the results since we only have one mirror. Apparently, it's also quite difficult to take photos of the back of your own head!



188/365: When in doubt, cat.


189/365: Making (cheater) brownies, and waking up to cats hanging out in places where they shouldn't be...



190/365: Someone told me that bachelorette parties call for erotic cookies, so I appeased the American masses.


191/365: "I see bags... are you leaving us for the weekend?!"


192/365: We didn't do any of that crazy bachelorette party stuff... just rented a lake house, visited a few wineries, did a little shopping, walked on the beach, went to the zoo, and watched romantic comedies. The house we stayed at was beautiful! The weekend wasn't long enough to fully enjoy everything it had to offer. Oh, and Amy snapped a great photo of me. Do not be deceived, those rocks were slippery.




193/365: Leaving vacation is always bittersweet; it's sad because it's over, but it's also pleasant to return home to familiar things.

What's more difficult? Going to work the few days before a vacation, when you have vacation-brain? Or going back to work after vacation, when you have post-vacation-brain? I really don't know. The anticipation always gets in the way of my thought processes, but then reflecting on the vacation afterwards gets in the way too. Hey! I finally got to use my polaroid camera for real this weekend! Not just indoors or to take portraits of people. If Shawn and I had a scanner, I could show you some of the photos, but alas, we do not....

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Fun Finds Friday #97

Friday, July 10


I think these need to replace my go-to black heels.



Love these! But they're sold out :(



The cutest pj set!!


+ Don't drink and buy. Um, #8 sounds like me.
+ A husky raised by cats! Super cute.
+ And another cute thing...
+ Here is why every state flag is wrong.
+ I think Lloyd and Sylvester would love to have a catio.
+ There's a cat cafe in San Francisco!

Happy Friday!!!

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