Hodgepodge

Cutest Girl in The World.  (!)  --That's been Mabie's nickname lately.  She's surprised us with a new trick recently: the high-five.  Turns out she's had this trick up her sleeve the whole time.  And she busts it out at the most opportune moments, which is often when she wants up on the couch.  She'll look at me pleadingly, offer her paw for a high-five, and wait.  When I'm too absorbed on the Internet, she'll strategically high-five the power cord out of my computer so that I'll have to acknowledge her pleas.  She may look thick, but don't let her act fool you; she's one smart girl.

I have a confession to make: I may have quite purposefully started today's post with an irresistible photograph of Mabes hammin' it up and a description of her too-cute ways as a means to make you forget how terribly inconsistent my posts have become.  Did it work?  Anywho, I do apologize for the sporadic nature of my blogging.  I'm in a very good place right now, though, which may be why I've turned to the computer less often for solace.  But I love blogging nonetheless so don't go thinking that I'll be leaving for good anytime soon...  You're stuck with me for a while :)

And look what else I've got for you: an outfit post!!  ...Am I forgiven yet?

Over-shirt: J. Crew (Colin's)

"Men Should Come with Directions" T shirt: The Betties

Riding pants: American Apparel

'There's No Place Like Home' shoes: flea market

'Look Here!' necklace: thrifted

You may recognize this T shirt from the shop.  I try not to wear shop items because I tend to get supremely attached once I make an outfit out of them, but this shirt's been sitting alone for too long and I thought it could use some air.  

I just may have to keep it for myself, though... (!)  It goes much too well with my arrow necklace.  And I very well can't separate them now, can I?

A week--or two?--ago I went to the library with a friend from work while on our lunch break, and ended up leaving with a slew of delectable books.  Among the books I managed to snatch up for a whopping nickel a piece was an old copy of The Wizard of Oz, complete with some incredible pen and ink drawings inside.  The first couple of pages have seen better days (it seems one of its previous readers had it out for "O"s and decided to scratch out every "O" on the first three pages of the book) and a single page in the center of the book has been ripped out.  Apart from that it's in great shape.  I also left with a book about medieval romances (right, in photograph) and a book that provides synopses and ratings for nearly every early mystery/spy/suspense film--from the 1920s to the late 1980s (left).  

The pile of books I've accumulated on my side of the bed seems to be growing by the week...

Lastly, to be fair, some cute photos of Beels, who's been getting the shaft since Mabes' arrival.

And Mabes... again...  Because she's The Cutest Girl in The World.

Sorry, Z.

Oh yes, one more thing.  I was downloading some videos off of my Flip when I came across this funny one when my sister and her husband had visited us for a weekend a few weeks ago.  We'd all had at least one drink at this point so we were pretty entertained by each other.  Colin spent much of the night speaking with a Boston accent so all you Bostonians out there, please forgive his sorry excuse for an accent.  

I <3 my family. 

Family Portrait, Minus Beels

Chummy Mabes...

...Slickin' it back, as usual

We forced Beels out of her pimp chair for this shot, hence the terribly disgusted face.

No one else exists when she's on her throne.

Sarsaparilla

On Her:

Dress: Target

Cardigan: Inherited from Grandfather

Purse: Flea market

Socks: J. Crew

Wedges: Target

On Him: 

Cardigan: J. Crew

Sport Coat: Was his father's when he was Colin's age

Bow tie: Thrifted

Pants: J. Crew

Shoes: J. Crew

Last night Colin and I dressed up and went to this adorable little steak house that a bartender we had befriended had recommended.  It was built in the sixties and hasn't seemed to have left the era since; the whole place was wood paneled and filled with art deco chandeliers.  We sat at a giant comfy booth in the back and could faintly hear the pianist playing in the front of the restaurant; it was so cozy!  

To fully understand the greatness of this beef inn, I should mention that we were the youngest people there.  Almost all of the other patrons had white hair and hearing aides and tables they called their own.  We sat across from a table of two men, both with ballooning bellies, one of which spent much of the evening raving about the meal and prided himself on frequenting such a "fine establishment."  (The food, I should add, isn't especially tasty; I did choose a delicious side of mashed potatoes but found it a little disconcerting that every time I swiped a spoonful a pool of butter would magically appear in its place.)  The atmosphere was worth the... hundreds? thousands?... of calories consumed, and we'll definitely be going back soon (if not for dinner, for drinks and entertainment)!

(photos taken with my phone, so please excuse the poor quality!)

We discovered an exotic dog park island on Saturday that is so reminiscent of the Pushing Daisies opener.  Isn't it beautiful??  Pearl loves bounding through the rolling fields of daisies and taking dips in the ocean; Mabes, on the other hand, has to be coaxed through the winding paths-- she's a very cowardly dog.  This was our first experience off-leash enclosure free, and we were amazed at how well behaved the girls were!  Mabel made sure to stop and check to see if we were walking behind her every yard or so, and Pearl would halt after chasing other dogs full speed to return to us when we called.  They've come so far with the help of their training class!

A funny aside: In order to get from the fields to the beach, you have to climb down a pretty steep hill.  Mabel got a little too excited when she first caught sight of the water and bounded towards it in a whim and ended up barrel-rolling down the hill.  When she finally popped back up, she was covered in fountain grass.  Needless to say, she was much more careful scaling up and down those hills!

     

[I bought these lilies last weekend and they're still thriving!  Our whole apartment smells of sweet perfume, thanks to them.]

In my phone...

Stills

Jeans: Gift from sister

Boots: Secondhand

Plaid button-down shirt: Inherited from grandfather

Cardigan: Thrifted

Pink velvet ribbon: Craft store

Scenes from our apartment.  

Cats and Dogs

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We haven't seen the sun here for several days now; the rain hasn't stopped pouring!  It's like it's... what's that word?... oh yes, winter!  (How very exciting!)

I spent the whole day sewing Christmas gifts (while listening to Christmas music of course) and I think I just might finish them in time.  I'll be posting photographs of the results after the 25th.

Speaking of rain-spattered windows [see last photo above], Mabel spent the entire two hour drive from LA to San Diego yesterday staring at the rain droplets as they scurried across the window of the car.  At one point, she tried to eat them but much to her dismay wasn't able to.  She most certainly has an obsession with food, which I used to find sort of endearing and altogether amusing, until it put her life at risk...  

Mabel developed a routine during the evenings where she'd scour the kitchen for remnants of food (she found the mother load of stray popcorn in the corner of the kitchen after I'd made a bowl for myself using the air popper and hasn't forgotten it since).  While making dinner one night last week, Mabes had managed to wedge all but her two little drumstick back legs underneath the cabinet that we put our microwave on.  I wasn't aware she was stuck until I realized that she wasn't able to move... at all.  That was when Operation Free Chunkster McMabes was put into place.  She still forages while I cook, but has learned to stay away from the Big Bad Silver Box.

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(These photos remind me of our cloud babies, which have unfortunately been dwindling in number.  I'll have to inspire Colin to make a project out of them... he loves LOVES loves working on projects.  [Note to self: buy more SuperPlus tampons to replenish cloud population.])

Mabel Syrup

The movie was SO GOOD!  Colin and I are going to be seeing it again.  The sound effects and the music were incredible, the plot line was a refreshing twist on the classic, and the visuals were... mmm!

While waiting for the gas man to come and fix our furnace, I put together a film of Mabie.  I didn't realize that I'd chosen a five minute song to accompany it (and I'm not technologically with-it enough to figure out how to fade the music out) so it's a little long.  Gosh, she's cute!

I'd always swore to myself that I'd never become one of those mothers that thinks that her kid is the smartest, most beautiful kid on Earth, but this obsession of mine with Mabel is making me think that I might in fact become one of Them.  Oh boy...

**I've posted this movie on my little sister's youtube channel.  Check it out here if you love to watch movies of adorable pets in your spare time!  

Potato Peel Pie & spit bubbles

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Lazy, lazy Friday! Colin had work off today so we spent the time to ourselves reading on the couch (while I occasionally dozed off on Colin's lap), forgetting altogether the gloomy weather right outside our door.  Oh how I love getting caught up in a good book!  I've just started reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and it is so delightful.  I've only made it to page 41 and I already feel so attached to the characters.  I can't wait to read about their lives tonight before I doze off...

Mabie seemed especially anxious today (she bolted out the door once I'd opened it and ran off to the neighbors' place to be greeted by oohs and aahs and petting hands) so we took both her and Z to the dog park.  We hoped she'd come back from the park and pass out on the floor of our apartment, but instead of chasing the pack she waddled from person to person waiting to be pet.  Zeena was an embarrassment at the park, as usual.  Once I let her off the leash, strings of drool start forming at the corners of her mouth and spit bubbles inflate, burst, and reinflate until we're back in the car on our way home again.  She loves scanning the perimeter of the park, marking every blade of grass she finds to her liking and all too often claiming territory with the more unconventional kind of excrement (bluh!).  

 "Excited" spit bubble

"Anxious" spit bubble

Paw cleaning time

It turns out requesting to be pet from people is exhausting... mission accomplished!