elephantine

my cup runneth over

(From sandra juto, rebecca lily, Cinnamon, and GON.)

I love the simple comfort of a full glass.

Jewelweeds + Two Thumbs Up

(Cute goodies from Jewelweeds.)

Some of my recently watched and recommended movies:

1. True Stories (1986) – One-of-a-kind David Byrne kookiness. Need I say more?

2. Trust (1990) – I wasn't so sure about this one at first, but then it really pulled me in. Good script, funny, a bit offbeat.

3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) – Although when I think about it, I realize that I only like this one because of the Javier Bardem eye candy. I mean... come on.

St. Kilda

(Pretty pretty! From St. Kilda, via A Cup of Jo.)

honey & jam

(I love Hannah's photos... see her flickr and honey & jam etsy shop.)

beehive kitchenware + the waiter's two cents

(So sweet! From beehive kitchenware.)

Tonight, when our waiter delivered my leftovers back to the table, I noticed he'd written something on the tidy foil-covered package. He didn't settle with a simple "eggplant parmigiana," but instead labeled my leftovers as "delicious eggplant parmigiana." You know. Just in case I had my doubts.

Amanda Gentry

(Love these pieces by Amanda Gentry, via oh, hello friend.)

Quote + Kitty knows best

(Ohhhh. Quote Bag Studio, via greedy girl.)

Rufus got a little present recently – a scratching board that can be hung on a door knob for optimal scratching pleasure. As a bonus, it came with a bag of catnip. A pretty sizable amount, too. If Rufus was dealing it on the street, I imagine that he'd make quite the profit.

The verdict? He likes the scratching board enough. He smashes his face against it like it's pure happiness. But what he l-o-o-o-oves is the instruction sheet. He rolls all over that piece of paper like nobody's business. I know that it's probably just because it reeks of catnip, but who knows. There's also a chance he's just really excited by diagrams and step-by-step instructions.

Tote crazy + The Natural History of the Chicken

(Love these totes: Lollycrisp Vintage, mélangerie, Plucked & Plumed, Little Factory.)

Yesterday we watched the hour-long documentary The Natural History of the Chicken, and now I'm officially ten percent chicken expert. It's a mashup of stories: from the lady who gave mouth-to-mouth to her frozen chicken, to the crazy "this chicken is my soulmate!" woman, to rooster-hating neighbors, to the chicken who survived a beheading. It's endearing and funny and a little depressing in that Christopher Guest kind of way.

If you have a spare hour (and aren't eating McNuggets) have a watch.

Replies to yesterday's post:
fiona: I know! I can't imagine a whale any cuter than him.
rachel: Good thing you spell it the "right" way, too ;)
amy: Oh, yes -- the C vs. K thing. It's practically war!
amber: Heh. I hope you don't get massive amounts of Rachel/Rachael guests at work.
carissa: You're right. Even "Chris" could be Kris or Cris!
kristin: Now I can't get "cutie patootie" out of my head. Patootie is an awesome word.

Coco Cake Cupcakes + Rachel Without an A

(Isn't this whale cake – and the name Lehlo – adorable? Made by Coco Cake Cupcakes.)

Today at work, in a client meeting:

me: Hi. I'm Rachel.
woman: Really? That's my name, too. How do you spell it?
me: R-a-c-h-e-l. No 'a'.
woman: Oh, good. You spell it the right way.

It makes me wonder... what would she have said if I spelled it the so-called 'wrong' way?

(So, I've seen a "replies" feature at the bottom of each post on two recently discovered and very wonderful blogs (fieldguided & This Is Naive). I think it's a fantastic idea and I hope Anabela and Tommy (the authors of those blogs) don't mind if I try it out, too. I really do appreciate each and every one of your comments, so this will be a way to have more of a two-way conversation. Without further ado...)

Replies to yesterday's post:

rachel: I know, aren't they great? Hope you have a great weekend, too.
lexie: I definitely had my fair share of energy today :)
becky: thank you! I hope you have a good one as well.
kristin: you're right – as long as the "cutie" part stays tacked on.

Jon Klassen + I'm counting my energy.

(Jon Klassen cards at Red Cap Cards, via simple + pretty.)

A friend gave me a box of Chinese red bean cakes today, and while they are tasty little treats, there are two other even more fantastic things about the box:

1. The name of this Asian treat is "Cutie Wife Cake."

2. In the Nutrition Information, there are no such things as calories – instead, the cake simply has "Energy."

I think I could get used to this.

a little announcement

I'm thrilled to announce that I just opened a new version of my shop. I'm not abandoning Etsy by any means, but Big Cartel has a lot of attractive features. The obvious one is that I have more control of the design, but there's also a few nice things as a shopper, too:

- you can still view any jewelry that's temporarily sold out
- you can choose your necklace/bracelet length (I've always offered custom lengths, but the dropdown menu makes it much easier).
- discount codes! no more waiting for a Paypal refund.

Speaking of that third point... to celebrate the new shop opening, I set up a little discount code. From now through March 21st, take 25% off your order. Just use the discount code "OPENING" at checkout.

Roost + Sinking? As if!

(This blood orange pots de créme recipe looks heavenly. Via Aran.)

stefan: Did you think Avatar was better than Titanic?
me: No.
him: Ok. I liked Titanic, for the most part.
me: Me, too. But I wouldn't have liked it as much if it wasn't based on a real event. I'd just be like...pssh...that was so unrealistic.

Haven Vintage + Fine film

(Haven Vintage.)

I mentioned the other day that I watched A Serious Man, and a few of you asked how I liked it – I did like it. I'd watch it again. It was a bit anticlimactic, but I think that was part of the point.

(The Big Lebowski will always be my favorite Coen brothers film.)

The other day on the bus, there was a guy babbling about movies to the rest of us. "You know what the very best movie is?" he asked no one in particular. "It's Legends of the Fall. Is there a better movie than Legends of the Fall? No! There just isn't."

p.s. Thanks bunches for the sweet comments about the new necklaces!   

the year of wonder + akira

I just put two new necklaces in the shop... the top one is called the year of wonder, and the bottom one is called akira. (And yes, the girl "modeling" the necklaces is me.)

Minxshop + Five Senses

(Pretty clothes from Minxshop.)

In the spirit of Abby's lovely Five Senses Friday posts...

This weekend I'm tasting:
homemade pizza.

touching:
the snooze button.

listening to:
the quietness of the lazy weekend.

seeing:
A Serious Man.

and smelling:
spring.

Super Duper Things + TGIF!

(Super Duper Things, via greedy girl.)

Rooby-Rooby-Roo!

I was taking photos of Bodhi the other day when he made the Scooby Doo "Ruh-roh!" face.

I have no idea what he was looking at.

Inoka Chui

(Inoka Chui's photos are quite beautiful...)

fox & clover

(Necklaces from fox & clover.)    

abby try again

(I love Abby's photos. Also check out her blog.)

Accessoire + Paint job

(Aren't these felt brooches by Accessoire darling?)

I'm amused that our neighbors recently painted their house the same color combo as the one we're renting: pale yellow with a white trim and a red door. I can just imagine them standing in front of the smorgasbord of paint chips at Home Depot, stressed about choosing the right palette.

"I know," one of them finally declares. "You like that house next door, don't you? Let's go with that. It won't make things confusing at all when giving directions to our guests."

Crewcuts

(Cutie pies from Crewcuts.)

Colby June Jewelry + Five Senses

(Swooning over this Colby June jewelry.)

In the spirit of Abby's lovely Five Senses Friday posts...

This weekend I'm tasting:
strawberry ice cream and salad with roasted almonds.

touching:
warm clothes fresh out of the dryer.

listening to:
Spilled Milk.

seeing:
sunny skies and Up.

and smelling:
the sweetest gardenia candle.

Heath Ceramics

(These seem to be making the rounds already, but I just love them: new additions to Heath Ceramics.)

Eva Juliet + The Suggestive Smoothie

(Today my friend Kathy and I were talking about how great Eva Juliet's prints are.)

My favorite smoothie place gives all their drinks "fun" names. I order the Mango Mania smoothie more often than not. It does make me more enthusiastic, so maybe they're on to something. There's also a Raspberry Dream flavor (I imagine that drinking this concoction results in some kind of psychedelic fruit trip). Then, for the true nut fanatic, there's Peanut Passion. There's another flavor that I'm intrigued by, too... but I just can't bring myself to ask the tattoo-clad guy at the counter for "a Peach Pleasure." If there is ever a drink that sounded suggestive, that's the one.

Lirola

(Pretty clothes from Lirola.)

SeeSaw Vintage

(Some fun SeeSaw Vintage goodies – the swans are measuring cups!)

yarmee

(Yarmee's handspun yarns make me want to take up knitting...)