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This weekend, even the nuns need to get down boogie.

Some worthy distractions this weekend…

17 things that will make you proud in a year.

The Ritz Carlton’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Anything that calls for the five sticks of butter can’t be bad, right?

Stephanie Tanner is Gangster as Hell.

Something really cool you never heard about Robin Williams.

Using pink elephants for a good cause.

Following yesterday’s post about Anne of Green Gables, here is failed TV pilot featuring Megan Follows, JLo, and a giant pink Barbie Cadillac. Ohhhh the 90s. 

Nifty back-to-school year-by-year photo idea.

I have been following Amber for years. Was a random thrill to see she featured my knob bobbles last week.

Anything with sprinkle pushpins gets my attention. Especially doughnuts.

Four words: Benedict Cumberbatch coloring book.

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I’ll be in Door County Wisconsin for part of this week. Hedgehog Harbor to be specific. Swinging down through Milwaukee — anyone got any suggestions on must-see places to check out? Let me know. Happy weekend!

Ingrid | Canon Rebel (my old one – it’s a work horse) | Sanuk Sandals | Key & Peele (thanks Heather!)

And just because it’s back to school season, let’s say hey to the substitute teacher:

Insubordinate. And churlish.

July, where have you gone?! One month of summer left, y’all. Let’s make it count!

Pool party!

My recent work for ILoveToCreate has blossomed a new appreciation for tie dye (did you see my duvet?)…if you know a man who is crazy enough to appreciate tie dye underwear, you have to do this one. You just have to. 

This cat sanctuary got a makeover that has me thinking I need to up my cat lady game.

Have you ever heard of the Great Parisian Waiter’s Race?

Move over Chipotle: cilantro lime cauliflower rice.

This new take on inexpensive linoleum tile is the raddest thing evur.

Michelle from Full House does Foucalt. Fascinating.

Paste Magazine’s 10 DIY and Craft Bloggers to watch (one of them might be familiar).

Nature hikes + Instagram = cutest travel albums.

Wreath made from copper kitchen scrubbers. Cheap, easy, non-season specific, and could be surprisingly modern on the right door. I dig it.   

I recently took these online classes in food photography from Leela Cyd. I’m not even a food blogger or anything, but I found them super helpful. If you are not familiar with Skillshare, you gotta get on that horse — they are an excellent source for online learning, especially for creative types. 

Ouf. This video is all kinds of powerful.

 
My Favorite Picture of You from Furlined on Vimeo.

Many years ago, before I worked here, my office phone number was publicly listed as a help line for the La Leche Leaugue (an organization that promotes breast feeding for babies).

Just to be clear, I don’t work for La Leche, we just happen to share a one-time phone number. This means I occasionally answer the phone and the person on the other end asks me about their breast feeding problem, usually in graphic detail, which, let me tell you, is an exciting a way to start a Monday. Just yesterday a lady called and asked me, without so much as a hello, “Do I need to boil the cabbage first?” followed by an informative discussion about “clogged ducts” and “fuuuuuuuuuuuk!” and “HOLY MOTHER OF GOD TAKE THEM OFF.”
 

So that was fun.

As you might imagine, these frank and terrifying discussions are just one of the many, many reasons I tip my hat to all the mamacitas out there. Mothers Day, and all the days in between. There you ladies go, getting it done, feeding your young one way or another, even if it means using an impressive amount of cursing at a stranger on the phone. 

My cousin John just gchatted me the most traumatic thing I’ve ever seen.

In summary: The Breakfast Club detention took place on March 24th, 1984.

Thirty years ago today. Thirty years. Guys. Thirty. Thirty years. If that does not spur you into feeling old, I don’t know what will. Or you just never watched The Breakfast Club, which is your loss, but it doesn’t change my current state of trauma. Just yesterday I crossed a pack of highschoolers in a parking lot and held my head down not wanting to look “big kids” in the eye. Now, technically, those “big kids” could be my children. This is how anxious I am to avoid the harsh reality of adulthood. I’m not ready for this. Not. Ready. Which brings me to something I have been meaning to mention…

Ahem.
  
If you picked up on some spottiness on the blog lately, you are right. I have been taking some self-imposed time outs to work on my fitness. And by fitness I mean ice cream and cable TV, but whatever, it’s my couch. My blog. I’ll be slothful if I want to.   

The truth is I have been having some tough conversations lately. Conversations with myself, my employer, and the people around me. Conversations about what comes next. Where do I want to be in five years? What do I want to be when I grow up? Am I a grownup already? Oh, crap, when did that happen? Does that mean I am officially a grownup? Did I run out of choices? Are there do-overs? Is there still time to order dessert? Who said I asked for the bill already? I’m not ready for this kind of commitment. So not ready. Who said I already decided? Am I too old for a mid-life tantrum? Am I? AM I?

You know, that old chestnut. 

The fact is, I’m not really sure. Five years ago I went through some major, major changes. And it damn near killed me. The good news is, I bounced. I hit bottom, I bounced, and I landed. I landed somewhere comfortable. And thanks to a steady job, some freelance clients, a network of awesome and inspiring people in my life (a couple in particular :)), and a nightstand loaded with self-help books, the last five years have been just about the bestest and easiest of my 34 so far. I have it good. Real good. Not a day goes by that I don’t count the abundance of my blessings on my fingers and toes, three times over. I know my story could have gone in another direction. In terms of human growth, my growth, five years is a lifetime in itself. To ask myself where I will be five years from now is a messy, way-beyond-wet-naps messy, and loaded question.

Aunt Peaches (the website, not the person) is coming up on four years this summer. I feel like I am coming up on the crossroads. Somewhere along the way this went from a cathartic weekend hobby to an all-week part-time job with barely part-time income. It’s been awesome. However, I worry that I could be, or should be, investing that time into other areas of my life. On the other hand, I wonder, if I invested what is left of my free time into the blog, could it become something more substantial? Could it be a primary source of income? I see other people doing this all the time – why not me? What would happen if I buckled down and spent some time on self-promotion? Or developed a basic business strategy and optimized my site and feed readers? Or all those other things that smart people do? Would turning a fun thing into a job thing make it suck? Would that change the tone and thereby change the readership? Is the blog market oversaturated already, and do I really have anything to add to the conversation? Really? Do I? Really?

Don’t answer that.

It’s a tough one. And I don’t flatter myself to think I am unique in contemplating these questions…

What worries me more is that there is no safety net. No spouse. No immediate family. No extended family within 1,000 miles. Plenty of friends and amifams to help pick up the pieces if something went wrong (see above mention, aka: the whole of my 2008)…but yeah. I’m too young to embrace adulthood, too old to be living on someone else’s couch. This is scary stuff. The concept of being my own boss is far more terrifying than joyful. I know what it’s like to live on the brink of disaster. I’ve lived on public assistance. I’ve gone to bed hungry. I’ve done things for money that I didn’t want to do. I don’t ever want to go back there. I don’t ever want to let myself feel that desperate or that helpless ever again. My current state of stability isn’t just convenience, it’s something I owe to myself. My past self. I don’t know what I would do if I lost it.   

And yet, on the other hand, for once in my life, my lack of connections works in my favor. I am solo. My current load is light. No dependents, no liabilities, no parents to worry about, no major monthly living expenses. As stuff goes ($tuff), I’m pretty flexible. I’m still paying off my student loan but for the first time in a long time, I can see the light at the end of that tunnel. My health is good, and thanks to the Affordable Healthcare Act, I can get reasonable health insurance for under $200 a month (–fyi: in 2008, the last time I was self-insured, it was double that and then some for crappy coverage, so youbettcha I’m grateful for Obamacare).*

*This is a perfect example of something I would not be able to mention if this blog was a job and not a hobby.

Anyway. It seems like the stars have aligned in a way to spell it out in big bold letters, IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE, NOW IS THE TIME TO GET UP OFF YOUR ASS AND CHANGE IT.

Ughhhhh.

Ughhhhhh. Can you hear the fizzle in that? Yeah. That’s apathy creeping in under the door. Opportunity is knocking but apathy wants in whether I answer that door or not. I’m desperately trying to keep it out. I’m trying to drive forward and figure out what comes next, but the path of least resistance keeps leading me to the couch with a half-eaten carton of ice cream and a loaded DVR. How is a gal to resist?

I’ll admit. I’m not doing so well right now.  

Part of this process is sharing this issue with you guys. This post is not fishing for advice or encouragement, I promise. My hope here is that by being as public and as honest with you guys as I can, it’ll spur me into accountability. And decision making. Tough decision making.  Rawrrrk!

In the next 90 days, I need to make some tough decisions regarding me. Regarding this blog. Regarding my job. Regarding my road map. Regarding the future and how these things play together.

Do I quit my job and throw myself into online entrepreneurial adventures? Do I find some other job and ditch this blog to give new prospects my undivided attention? Is it possible to find some balance that works with both (better than what I have now)? Do I want to give up the freedom of blogging about whatever I want, whenever I want in order to attract readers and more sponsors? Would it be weird to no longer have to be anonymous, hiding my name and my appearance online? Would it be awesome to sink my teeth into something new? Would it be terrifying if I didn’t know how much money I would make next month? What would I do if it didn’t work out? Would I regret it if I never tried? Am I putting all my eggs in one basket? What’s my Plan B? What will it look like if I fail? What will I look like with my bangs grown out?

A lot of questions. All of them admittedly self-indulgent, yet, some of the most important I will ever face.

And then the answer came by way of email from my friend Hillary who wrote, “I got it! I know what you can be when you grow up!” followed by a link to this video:

And there you have it. The answer to all my questions wrapped up in a crazy Californian lady living in a self-imposed Kingdom of Cats. Say what you will about the business model, but as far as inspirational life choices, this beats all.

So there you go. Oprah, eat your heart out.

Ye Olde website is experiencing some technological tummy troubles today. I’ll save my regular post for when it’s sorted out, but in the meantime, let’s just look this little sparkle nugget of awesome:

Courtesy of After Glow Studio. Oodles of spangled goodness going on up in there. No idea how they made it but I suspect there will be one in my future. More to follow!

🙂

So this thing happened this morning wherein I stumbled into this gal’s awesome blog which led me to her equally awesome pinterest page which led me down the rabbit hole to this flaming pile of fierceness:

First of all, can we all just agree that bros before hoes is something that only a bro without a hoe would say?

Second of all, where do I get this wondrous thing and where can I find more of them?

Okay. I know.

Thing is, you don’t buy the finished piece. You buy the kit. Most are under $10 (see more on their website). Excellent Mother’s Day gift, I’m thinking.

So this leads me to the following questions…

1. Where the hell is my embroidery hoop?
    
2. Is it really that hard to needlepoint like this? I took Embroidery 101 in home ec (back when they still had home ec classes) and it wasn’t even that hard. I got turned off by the concept because we each had to make a 6” gingham sampler square that was to be sewn into a class quilt for babies in war-torn Bosnia, and the teacher rejected my square away it had a blood spot on it (don’t judge. I washed it first. What? You give needles to children and what do you expect). She made this big point to say IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE CLASS that those babies in Bosnia didn’t want no blood quilt, which I thought was a total crap thing for her to say because she just got through telling us people in “the formerly USRSR” were eating “cat and cabbage” just to survive and it seemed to me, ignorant in my youth, that people desperate enough to eat cats and cabbages would probably be okay with a quilt with some teensy mystery spot on it. So that’s just horsecrap. They didn’t need to know it was blood now did they? As an adult I see what’s wrong that statement but as a kid it was deeply hurtful. Turned me rotten on the whole concept of embroidery until this very day. Fuck you, home ec.
    
3. I like the concept of ladies sitting around doing needlepoint. It’s very Jane Austen. Can we make this a trend? The knitting thing is played out. Let’s get a needlepoint trend going.
    
4. Remember that part in Pride and Prejudice where one of the Bingley sisters is all like, “ladies of accomplishment can needlepoint and paint and draw and play piano at the same time” and Darcy was all, “I don’t know any bitches who can do that” and then he looks at Elizabeth knowingly. Or something like that. Yeah. That was good.
5. Why don’t they needlepoint on Downton Abbey? Can Julian Fellows work that in the storyline so we can all hashtag that number and get it going? Can somebody reading this in England hook that up? I know you all know each other. Place ain’t even that big. And while we are on the subject of English doings, where do we stand now that Downton has concluded for the season? Let’s talk about this for a sec. Because I for one found the whole Rose Gets a Quinceanera storyline INSUFFERABLE. The hell? I hate her. Are there not enough pretty and interesting women on this show already? Rose. First she is being annoying, then dates the effeminate black dude just to piss off her mother, then she’s being annoying again, then she’s dancing with Prince Edward like she saved the whole damn monarchy by finding his hidden relationship love letter (ummmm…like ol’Eddy was big on putting monarchy before his relationship in real life? Riddle me that one, Julian). And why is Rose getting all the attention when Lady Edith, poor Lady Edith, is made to suffer more than Elizabeth Taylor? Can you even imagine keeping silent and watching your child grow up in the safe harbor of the local hog farmer? BTW: Hog Farmer is awesome. He’s so cool. You could tell he knew the whole time she was talking but didn’t want to rub it in her face. What grace. What dignity. Hog Farmer for mayor!!!!!! Between him and Granny Crab’s hat situation they really got me going, but then, BUT THEN, they have the nerve to put Bates back under the lamp light of suspicion when everybody knows that meat roid valet had it coming. HAD. IT. COMING. And why is Mary getting all high and mighty about not letting dead people deaths lie in peace? I got two words for you, Mary: TURKISH DIPLOMAT. And anyway, who cares who pushed the valet? Justice was served. The end. Speaking of endings – Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Let’s have more of that. If they will give me more of that I will get over how they torment Daisy with unrequited love. Even a scullery maid deserves to get her man. You know what I’m sayin, Jullian? Okay. I’ll stop now because my caps lock quota is up for the week, but if someone would like me to tell them what should come next season, holla. I’m available.    
    
6. In conclusion: Dead valets are okay and I need an embroidery hoop. Happy Thursday.

PS: Anyone going through Downton Abbey withdrawal might want to consider youtubing The Victorian Garden series. Different vibe altogether but it’ll scratch the itch. Hat tip to my pal Dee for sharing this method of Downton Abbey methadone with me a few years ago. Works every time.  

Sometimes bloggers do these “the week in instagram” type of posts and I sorta think they are sorta a cop-out.  I mean, who wants to re-hash something they already put out on one for of social media into yet another form of social media? Yawn. But then I get these occasional emails from people wanting to know what’s going on in the little slideshow in the sidebar and I think, Well gosh, not everyone is on Instagram so maybe I should explain that a little.

Okay. So. That said, two things;

1. If you have a smart phone and can get on Instgram, do. You can lock up your account so nobody sees it, but, I promise you, it will make you a more observant individual. It won’t make any of us great photographers, but it will make us better at appreciating beauty, which is pretty fantastic in my book.

2. If you are on Instagram, follow me then you can skip this whole thing.

So let’s kick this off with the important stuff: Lola.

My cat, or should I say, the cat who allows me to live with her, has a particular talent for situating herself in places where she looks especially fetching. Nobody does pattern mixing like Lola. Here she mixed zebra on floral or ethnic with a touch of marmalade fur. If I were British enough to call something smashing, that’s what I would say here, but as I am American I’ll call it neato and hope Lola accepts the description as fair justice (not likely).

This is more of me messing around with Waterlouge (we talked about this earlier). The photo is from a wall of ribbons at Britex Fabrics in San Fransisco. Now I’m waiting for one of my favorite printers to have an enlargement sale so I can get this sucker blown up life size.

Side note: Britex is easily the best fabric store I have ever been to. It’s ain’t cheap but it makes your regular hometown fabric store look like a common hooker. Only reason I went to Britex when I was in San Fran was because a reader suggested it — so thanks for that! Man I love it when you guys tell me the important stuff. 

 This is the Thompson Center in Chicago. If you ever have to drop some crap off at the Attorney General’s office, be sure look out at the view. Or down, I should say. What you don’t see here is that bottom floor there is actually just a giant food court and the whole place smells like Panda Express.

This is just me bragging because the guy at Trader Joe’s said I have nicest reusable shopping bag he has ever seen. And he sees a lot of bags.

I win. 

This is me too. #TBT (Throw Back Thursday). In a recent post I mentioned that I dressed up as Scarlett O’Hara not once, but twice. Wasn’t kidding about that. This is me age 11 wearing my costume, legit hoop skirt made from a bed sheet and hoola-hoops with my own two hands. BAM.

#FF (Follow Friday). This awesome lantern is by Alexa, aka Swell Designer. If you are in the mood to follow people who are in the business of making tie-dye sparkly things, she is a good one to follow. 

Friday night dinner at Noelleen’s, which was awesome, followed hummingbird cake. Noeleen is Texican and doesn’t read this blog so it’s okay if I tell you she went rogue on tradition and doubled the banana and pineapple and put Captain Morgan in the frosting. (Like I said, she’s Texican). It came out half-way to pudding, but surprisingly tasty. It’s been 20+ years since I had hummingbird cake and I am now hellbound and determined to make one myself.  This recipe from my friend Suzonne has perked up my interest something fierce.

Heidi came over on Sunday and we crafted the bajeebus out of some eggs. I know it’s too early for Easter, so I promise more on these fellas down the line. Stay tuned!