My Little Luxuries.

• An occasional daytime bath.
• Magnum Mini chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bars.
• Listening to showtunes while I get ready.
• Diving into learning about a show after I see it.
• Fresh Sugar lip balm.
• Burning my peppermint marshmallow candle before company.
• Sitting in the car and talking for a while before getting out.
• Icy water in my almost-1-liter bottle.
• Writing in color.
• Playing music loudly when I'm in the car alone.
• Dr. Pepper in the morning.
• Just looking at the art in our living room.
• The big purple blanket I brought from the bedroom to my armchair in the living room.
• Ordering two beverages (water and a soda) at restaurants.
• Looking at the pond after rain.
• Seeing baby animals (ducklings and goslings) in the spring, right through our window.
• The three of us, all eating different food but all sitting together at the table for dinner.

Few People Know That...

• I loathe squash.
• I'm terrible at parking but even worse at getting out of a parking space.
• I met Dennis DeYoung of Styx. Oh, wait, I tell everyone that.
• I can tread water for over an hour.
• My hair has a lot of red in sunlight.
• I drink a ton of water. I tracked my water intake for 24 hours a couple years ago: 7.5 liters.
• I was homeschooled for 2nd-8th grades.
• I used to spend two separate months a year with family in Washington state.
• I don't live anywhere near any extended family except my cousin Steve and his family in SC.
• The first vehicle I drove was a big pick-up truck. I was around 10 and on my family's ranch.
• I got to play the princess in a children's theatre version of Aladdin.
• I lip-synced "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in a bizarre costume as part of a children's theatre insane production of Oz.
• I'm on volume 161 of my journal.

My Favorite Collections

What makes a collection? If it's a good one, it's a gathering of objects, similar in appearance or purpose, which reveals a person's personality and joys or fears.

I would love making a collection of emerald objects. I do feel some connection to Oz.

I have quite a collection of necklaces. Several were birthday, Christmas, or anniversary gifts from Josh. Many necklaces are hanging from hooks (like a silver seahorse key rack), and the rest are in separate zip bags in a pretty box. I used to have more, but I gave many to my mom to wear or to dismantle for crafts. But I love necklaces. I love how a necklace can completely change an outfit or an attitude.

I have a collection of Faerie Glen fairy figurines. They're gorgeous. In so many moves, many have lost their wings. But they are still lovely. My favorites are in our bedroom.

I collect journals, of course. And pens. I think I have a great fear of not being able to write.

I love my illustrated fairy tale books. In my search over several years, I've found some stars.

I also love my musical theatre souvenir programs with their vivid images and bright color, pushing me back into that experience in the audience.

Some of the joy of collections is the joy of discovering and acquiring more objects. I don't have the funds for that now, but I try to put that energy into enjoying my collections as they are. Sometimes, my apartment feels like a wonderland to me.

Odd Wishes.

These are the kinds of wishes that roll around in one's bedside table's drawer.

• I wish I had a vanilla milkshake and a giant Pottery Barn Teen catalog.
• I wish I were better at spellings. It's gotten worse in the last couple of years.
• I wish that I could get back to a healthier weight and that my efforts would actually have an impact.
• I wish I were eating a nutty brownie and vanilla ice cream with my dad.
• Alternative: I wish I were eating Snickers pie from Cooker with my dad.
• I wish I could still dance a little just to show it off.
• I wish my fingernails wouldn't grow past a certain point. 
• I wish I were eating pastry with warm brie and honey outside the Blue Moon Cafe with my mom.
• I wish I had learned to play the piano.
• I wish my hair wouldn't frizz.
• I wish I had a lighter version of my swimming obsession back.
• I wish I could have individual pockets in my savings account--gifts, summer, travel...
• I wish Sunset Boulevard and Starlight Express would tour now.

Culling and Curating.

I'm not sure why I'm suddenly okay with reducing the number of books in our library. What am I cleaning out? Do I feel choked by objects, unable to enjoy the rest, the most beautiful?

I have a Pull-Ups box full of books, several of which I just read recently. I've been going through the the sticky-flagged pages and writing down the quotations in a Cinderella composition book. The box will go to 2nd and Charles, where I'll get store credit. The newer books are easier to let go. I work slowly through the older books, the ones that have been part of our many homes. 

I want our bookshelves to convey who we are. I want to feel lighter. 

Of course, I have so many books I've not read yet, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. The best news is that I'm kind of crashing through books lately. It's a wonderful, empowering, and joyful experience.

Decadence.

It may have a negative connotation, but what a delicious word! It makes me think of chocolate and velvet. I guess taste and touch are major channels. Here are some examples of my kind of decadence, rich and sometimes frivolous happiness, maybe the sort in which I should indulge more often.

• getting comfortable alone with a book for hours.
• reading a magazine cover-to-cover in one sitting (I did this on my 30th birthday).
• clean, slightly worn sheets.
• mermaid stamps, stickers, and so on. That kind of magic should be easier to find!
• laughing my head off with one of the people I most love to talk to.
• multiple acknowledgements of a blog post I thought would interest no one.
• Gold pens.
• Dove chocolates with peanut butter.
• Magnum mini ice cream bars.
• Dr. Pepper right when I need it and so cold.
• Bingeing on a show as I did with Bates Motel.
• Fleece pants.
• Writing fast and pushing the pen hard.
• Noticing a word I just learned out in the world.
• Buying multiples of something I adore.
• Holding hands.

On Trend.

I love trends because they help me get what I want. When I started public high school at 16, I wanted to fit in. I don't know if I wanted to get attention or just to slip into the background by looking like others. Ombre was in style then too, and I remember my pink-to-hot-pink pants. I loved the sparkle jeans. My favorite pair had little pink and white stars sprinkled over the glitter and fringe.

Since then, I haven't paid much attention to trends unless they are something I already like. I pay most attention to colors. My mom and I love deep greens, so we were excited when it became "color of the year" or something. We couldn't find green anywhere, and suddenly, it was everywhere! Like magic.

But I also ignore a lot of trends. Matte makeup is big deal right now. I love everything that shimmers or sparkles, so I pay little attention to newer makeup. I will say, though, that Urban Decay still has the right idea with the Moondust products. When something I love is on trend (and preferrably, on sale), I take advantage of the opportunity if I can.