Sunshine in my Veins

What a beautiful month February has been so far.  I am one of those single ladies that loves Valentines day regardless of my relationship status.  It might have something to do with all of the little pink and red hearts that line windows and bakery cases and my personal love of how absolutely in your face girly this holiday is.  Typically I do not categorize gender with color, but I can for this and I am taking pink and red.  A bit of residual Lisa Frank love from my childhood will always squeak out around this time of year.

Oh my God.  I want this.  Framed.  In my bedroom.   Above my bed.  Serious man repeller

Had all of these in grade school/maybe college (don't judge) 

Anyway to me Valentines day has always been a sweet and happy experience.  Especially the year I was bartending with a rail full of lonely men who after a few heavy handed whiskeys returned to me with flowers, chocolates (yes both plural), and the most oddly sweet, creepy, desperate card full of recollected missed connections that never actually happened between me and the drunken soul that gifted it.  I still own this card and will find it in boxes periodically over the years.  It is a super cheap and obvious insincere, ego boost appropriately addressed to Lora.  Dang I missed to boat on that one, curses.  This past Valentines day has so far been the absolute best!  In a close second, my long ago ex once manged to sneak us into a fancy recording studio late night to play for me the adorable pop song he had written, produced and recorded specifically for our first date, on Valentines day.  It felt like I was in a movie.  This year we literally turned ourselves into a movie.  My best friend Erika joined me west cost side for the season of love.  We dressed up, we drank copious amounts of great coffee, and since we were armed with fancy thrifted duds and highly caffeinated we rocked out like gods to the melody's of Dr Dog.  We invented a glamorous new way of picking up men.  In my head this tactic made us even sexier than a giant framed picture of a neon rainbow painted unicorn above my bed.  Though it has not yet snagged us any men it has given us a lot of laughter.  We laughed so much I forgot how much we could laugh.  We had a glorious adventure.  Saying goodbye seemed so heavy. You see there are no plans for me to see her again at all soon.  There are no large family holidays requiring me to travel home to Texas, no summer road trips across the country.  Sadly I have no clue how long till I see my lassie making our goodbye much more difficult.  Still having an essential piece of my past involved in my new life was rejuvenating, and I am grateful to know I have not been forgotten with distance.  So now without further delay I now present the Facebook replay of our movie mentioned above...

Erika lost in the woods stops to admire a beautiful waterfall and ponder life.
E:  (Pondering)

She ponders upon life's questionable nature...

Little does Erika know that lurking and pondering  in the same woods is Laura.
Da ta DON!  

Laura upon finding Erika is appalled at her choice of hiking attire .  In a jealous fit of rage she captures Erika and ties her to the railroad tracks

E: Ghhhaaaaa rrhaaaaa

L: I think you might be getting a cold. 

L:  Ah HA I have won.  The train will be here shortly and you will be  helpless!

But wait!  Who is this?  Could it be?  No?  It isn't?  Is it?  Who is he?  Does he hear our maidens cries?  Is this our hero?

Pants flies into action!  It is our hero! 

The struggle begins

The struggle ends

E:  My you have such floppy hair.  

Pants:  I am here to save you.  Let us focus.

Pants:  Fine velvet maiden I hope you are unharmed.
E:  Will you flip your hair one time for me, please.

And so they were.  Erika safe from harm and Pants did in fact flip his hair for her.  He did so flip it well.
THE END

TA DA!  And in conclusion with the spirit of this blog being somewhat fashion oriented and for further entertainment.  I bring you internet finds of Google railroad tracks and fashion.

Get it dude...Happy Valentine's day loves

The Normal Blog

I have now been sitting at a coffee shop looking around the room and on the web for over an hour.  I have many ideas today about what I want to write about, but I lack the ability today to bring anything together in an organized story.  I am a bit over caffeinated which I know might be one of the culprits.  I am more so just disappointed.  Most of my blogs are happily sarcastic and curious and I try and keep them that way, but today I came to write with cloudy thoughts.  So I have within the last few sentences decided to dedicate this blog to the extreme polarity of over and under expectations people have shared about me, to me, in the last few weeks.  I have what a sailor friend of mine once called a  "desirable profession".  I put the quotes around both words because my job is often too much fun for me to seriously call it a profession.  Now the desirable part is exactly what your base instincts lead you to, and like the sailors own profession it is not always the beautiful picture of romance and flexibility the stereotype carries.  I am dedicated to my job and all the weight it carries. Meaning that I am constantly working on improving my physical and mental health in order to be a better teacher, and a positive example for my community.  Now a side of gin with dinner, and a powerful addiction to coffee/tacos are all part of the detox/retox reality/balance of the fact that I spend almost all day being physical and love love love these little luxuries too much to give a fuck and deprive myself.  Here is the truth about me and my job, I am boring.  For my friends who read this wait a minute before you start defending my choice wording there.  I say boring over normal or easy or calm or even possibly content.  I am saying boring because this is a word I have recently been forced to deal with myself.  I am boring.  When someone meets a yoga teacher who can also tack on circus aerialist and cross country transplant I am not 100% percent sure but I am 99% sure those can seem like a lethal sexy showpiece.  So just to non-defensively clarify, in order to maintain the ability to do what I do you have to work really hard and you have to work a lot.  I am selective of my playtime. It is not conducive to my central focus.  Lucky for me I was generously blessed with my fathers beautiful clever wit so I am able to make the most out of even the simple situations.  This now allows my transition.  Some new fans have started attending my blog.  AWESOME and thank you so much!  In some recent feedback about my blogging style I was handed a verbal complement that I will loosely translate now.

Your blog has been surprising to everyone.  Since you don't talk the way you write (lie) we were all just so impressed by your storytelling.  It goes to show what I always knew that you have always been smarter than you thought.  It has just been given to you naturally without any work. (ouch)

This is not at all verbatim.  Also note the ironic incorrect punctuation.  I want the party who said this to know I do know you had the best intentions with your compliment.  I received this as a compliment.  Thank you, very seriously.  I am just curious as to how people I know can view me and my abilities with such extremes?   So I write this blog without any pictures or fun stories and fashionable frills as just a normal blog.  Like an extremely public, vulnerable,  and slightly embarrassingly fitting diary entry not attempting to change opinions.  Opinions only create as much life as is chosen to be given to them.  I do things the way I do them because I have only me.  In the end of everything I am only me in my own bones that delicately and deliberately cover my heart and keep the secrets only I know safe.  So a genuine thank you for being honest and helping hold a mirror to things I might not see nor want to.  

  

Small Town High

I love Bellingham...now.  Though a bit of a rocky start, this small towns charm has been reassuringly singing to me soft charming songs of its devotion.  I am really really happy here.  Still the draw of the big city will always be somewhere in my heart for one simple shallow reason...  In a small town one has fewer opportunities to get dolled up like a fashionable man repelling god, for absolutely no reason.  Thus turning an otherwise blah Saturday into a street show sidewalk catwalk with like minded friends in tow and an asskicking bass line in your head that could impress a Japanese hipster.  Now I know that I could continue every weekend to put on my furs and frills, decorating myself in layers of floral and flannel.  I am just getting a bit complacent in my dressing, because I am well the ONLY person I know who does this.  Yes I am not and will not count the college girls I see dressed up in slutty tin foil.  Just because your dress was twice as much as everything I have on combined, and you are in a shinny strapless mini-dress while it is 20 degrees outside, does not mean you have figured out how to dress yourself yet.  I am not hating on these poor girls because we all have our fashion history to not repeat.  Also I do not even hang out in same establishments as these little "ladies" so even if I did consider them as fashionable I would still not find in them a fellow catwalker (not a real word).  This is why I am super excited about two things.  One it is Prom season here in Bellingham!  I am not delusional.  I know I am not in high school, and I will not be attending the prom.  I also know that if the college girls can not dress themselves how the hell and I suppose to have any faith in the high school ones!?  I can not assume all the girls here are going to also try and convince their date to dress up as Elvis and you as Priscilla in conjunction with with the oh so terrible Vegas nights themed, gold balloon laced ball.  He would not do it by the way.  I am still disappointed about that.  I would have rocked this hair!

So now I know this is a long shot, but I walk past the formal dress shop everyday and I just started thinking.  I can use the prom as an excuse to dress up.  Like new years, my birthday, Valentines day, flag day, a leap year, and Sunday funday I have another excuse to get dolled up like an over dressed Thanksgiving turkey and parade my round decorated ass through town.  Now I just need an equally overdressed, and willing to dance the night away date.  Yes I want a flower to wear around my wrist or to pin in my hair.  Even better if I can conjure up a fleet of overage dancing fools to join me on my prom night parade.  So lets think about this because I giving PLENTY of notice.  April or May?  I am serious.

Ok moving on to the second reason for my excitement.  I already have my fashion radar around this event.  Here are a few little ideas/obsessions

First off: Bright Orange Lipstick

Now with my disappointing inability to take pictures for this blog I am having to use the internets to help me with visuals.  Know this, I have bought this, and worn it, and it is beyond amazing.   

Orange Inspiration 

Starting at the top and working down.  I feel like a top hat is desperately needed in my near future.  

Inspiration #1

Inspiration #2

Oh yes Inspiration #3
"Where is fancy bred, in the heart or in the head?"

The final project 

Now working our way to the gold wrapping paper.  Also a little long hair companion never hurt  

I am not too old for this glorious fringe and gold top.  Am I?  Add orange lips/top with hat and voila 

I am torn here in this last step.  Get it...step...shoes...crickets

 So why all the planning?  What reason could I possibly have to wear such impressive folly?  Well my better half and fellow showstopper will be joining me on the streets of Seattle for a Valentines date extraordinaire.  Laurika, Dr Dog, Seattle, and  man repelling attire=two women who separated at birth, will be reunited for a week that I have been waiting for since I moved here!  Lassie I can not wait to see your face!

The snow must go on...

"Oh my god!  So this must be the first time you have ever seen real snow?!"

Oh my god!  So you must think that I only have come in contact with a more recreational form of "snow" being from Dallas and all.  Seriously I know Bellingham is but a small town of simple folk, but if I get asked this again I will mentally drop kick your face  (what type of threat were you expecting from a yogi?).  And!  So I do not have to clarify this later 1. Mom I have seen "snow" countless times but no I am not a fan of sledding  2.  My drug terms are probably laughably incorrect and 3.  I do not really think that the people here are simple, smelly but not simple.  Now I will say that I have seen a fair amount of snow before moving here, but I have yet to experience a real winter.  Never on my bucket list, but I can cross this off of the what do those poor poor people in the mountains do when it gets super shitty cold list!?  This is what winter really feels like.  I am so unprepared.  I walked around downtown last night in canvas vans.  My feet were not wet when I got home.  No no they were frozen.  They got wet when I stepped in an icy puddle, then the water froze before I reached home.  Today I pulled out my best attempt at snow shoes.  Really bad knock off doc martin 90's style boots that are so heavy my feet keep falling asleep.  Oh and I am wearing red flannel, thinking about putting on brown lipstick, walking down to the local video store, and renting Reality Bites so I can swoon over Ethan Hawke.  I know also that I have completely disregarded mentioning any of my holiday adventures.  I let the moments pass where I should have written any sort of recap, and so now I am going to just continue on with current events.  I will say that my holidays were full of what I wanted more than any furry vest, the people that I love and care for most.  Still I was happy to return to Washington, weather aside, and continue on with the path I am discovering here.  The new year has brought me a laundry list of new challenges.  All of this stylish laundry of course.  The next few months are filled with intense circus training, yoga competitions, visits from friends, deepening gratitude, and attempting forgiveness.  I hope to do it and myself justice.  All as long as my heater continues to work!

Note that this was taken from inside through a window because it is 11 degrees outside

Texas snow shoes

The snow shoes I wish I had

The snow shoes I should wish I had

Grandma knows how to stay warm

This is what I wish I could be wearing right now

This was the weather exactly this day last week and I would like this back please

  

January was a total Gentleman last night

Today I would love to point out that I am writing this blog on a Saturday at eleven am.  This is right before I go and get a pedicure (gift from my boss for Christmas) followed by a yoga class and then practicing at the circus. Le sigh life is so hard...  I bring attention to this day of the week because usually I would be at work slinging eggs for demanding hungover college kids, or if I was still in Texas all of my demanding hungover friends.  I have long been tied to the velvet handcuffs of the service industry.  I can not discount the fact that I paid my way through college getting people drunk, and it is how I met most of my bedazzled ex boyfriends.  We have had many fun times and many times I can not remember.  I have learned many things from being a waitress the main one is that I am not a fan of being a waitress.  Eight years in college, one degree in fashion, yoga teacher training, wardrobe styling gig, a giant move to Washington, one year to go before turning 30, and FINALLY I am able to say a semi farewell to the how would you like your burger cooked lifestyle.  I say semi because I am going to keep one Sunday brunch shift a week as I transition into the paycheck every other week, what is a budget, and no I do not have any cash to pay this bands cover charge, people actually do use ATMs mentality.  As of last week I am officially teaching what I truly love full time! (I have only been teaching part time if you need a recap)  Oh but wait it gets better.  I work Mon-Fri cough cough COME AGAIN!  Yes folks not only that but being a small town and smaller studio there is no such thing as a 5am yoga class nor any classes after 7pm.  I have what you might call hit the yoga studio jackpot.  I love the students, I love my fellow teachers, and wish I could just sit with my boss and his amazing wife for hours to soak up every beautiful word they speak.  They do not read this so this is not me kissing ass.  I genuinely have a deep appreciation for the opportunity that I have been given here.  I have worked so so so hard most of my short life to find something I could do with honesty as an extension of myself.  What I do and who I am are now connected.  I love that both myself and my career have reached a point where we can grow up and evolve together.  It is a cool feeling kids.  It will still be hard work but my heart is 100% invested.  2012 is one week in and I have fallen deeply for its opening line.  I can only hope that this year will continue to woo me, and since my dating life is a stand up comedy act I am asking for 2012 to continue to take me to dinner.

Here is a preview of my Texas Christmas attire and New Years Eve fluff which will come in another blog this week...Yee Haw

Tinsel Toes

Holiday dressing, and not the kind that you stuff your face with, is my number two favorite thing about this time of year!  The number one favorite is of course actually stuffing my face with dressing, though I would not want to start a blog with my gluttony just gracefully let it spill out in the second sentence.  This way I seem coy and mysterious.  Like how on first dates I attempt to not throw all of my cool kid facts out at once in a pathetic attempt to solidify a second date.  No no kids I keep calm and on the second date is where I give out those last little details of my rockstar ways and totally blow my wad in two short but always entertaining encounters.  If you do not know me personally, which if you read this regularly most likely you do and are my Mother or friend Christina, then know I am merely poking fun at myself in a half kidding/three quarters serious way.  Rein it in Burch! Seriously though I love the holiday collections!  The styles and eccentric use of sparkles and texture make me childishly giddy.  I audibly squealed in a store the other day at the site of an obvious Halloween leftover/now holiday display 1930's floor length, bias cut, backless gown, decorated with the gaudiest treasure/broach I have ever seen in person.  This is coming from someone whose favorite necklace for the past 5 years has been a 8in long metal plate cut in the shape of a mudflap pinup, may it rest in peace where ever it has fallen (fucking moving boxes! sorry Mom it happens.  By it I mean me and cussing).  In my daydreaming I have decided to become Florence for Christmas.  She suits me well bold, dramatic, and otherworldly.  How about a singalong and a wishlist?!

   

My dress shines even if your eyes do not.

  Santa PLEASE!

Or elves this is a great substitute
 Free People holiday collection  

Decorate like winter has dressed the mountain  

One can not forget the ornaments to go on top of your tree