#Caddy Van

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Daihatsu Hijet Caddie, 2016. A version of the 10th generation Hijet for customers who needed a van but also wanted a "comfortable working environment."

[steddieas-shegoes]

🪱 Wiggly Wednesday 🪱

Steve who is forced into golf lessons at a young age because his dad expects him to play to impress business partners when he joins him at the firm.

Steve who is a naturally boisterous child, energetic, cheers when the ball goes in the hole even though you’re supposed to maintain composure and have minimal celebration.

His coach is endeared, but the moment his father sees it, he gets reprimanded and told to act “like an adult.”

Steve who is very good at golf, but hates it because he can’t enjoy it the way he wants to.

Steve who gets a scholarship to a university for golf, but ends up losing it because his grades aren’t the best.

Steve who gets disowned before he has a chance to redeem himself.

Steve who turns to being a caddy for money and ends up working a lot of special events, like fundraisers.

Which is when he meets Eddie Munson, the lead guitarist for the band that’s hired to do any special event at the club. He always wears the required uniform of black pants and a white button down, but he rolls the sleeves and shows off his tattoos, his hair is unruly, and he wears a smirk that Steve knows would irritate him on anyone else.

Eddie’s hot.

Steve’s a little bit of a slut.

They find a bathroom when everyone’s cleaning up.

It may be three in the afternoon, but there’s no proper time for a bathroom hookup.

It continues for months.

Neither of them ever talk about meeting up outside of this stolen time together in an empty bathroom at a country club filled with the worst types of people they could possibly have to be around.

Until Eddie makes the mistake of offering to drive Steve home. And Steve has to explain he’s currently living with his best friend and he doesn’t wanna risk her parents waking up from his loud van pulling in the driveway.

And then he makes the mistake of offering for Steve to stay the night with him in his new apartment.

“We can break in my bed,” he offers.

Steve’s mistake is that he agrees.

But is it a mistake if Steve starts to leave his clothes at Eddie’s? And starts staying every night with him, even when they aren’t planning on hooking up? And sometimes Eddie comes home from his regular day job as a mechanic to Steve cooking dinner for them? And Steve sometimes has nightmares that Eddie holds him through.

And sometimes they say they love each other.

Maybe more than sometimes.

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Always room for seconds (dp x dc)

"There they go again," says Aunt Alicia as she looks at the hazmat-clad backs of her sister and her husband jumping into their mish-mash-of-a-van. "And on Thanksgiving too," she finishes to herself as she turns toward her niece and nephew. Neither of them look surprised, though Jazz is clearly more affected if the tick in her jaw is any indication.

"They promised," she practically spits but Danny just sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder. It seems to draw the fight out of Jazz a bit and she sags onto herself.

Alicia loves her sister but she can be so irresponsible sometimes.

"Come on kids, let's go back inside. It's about time to put the turk-" she stops short, then groans. Maddie had insisted on bringing the turkey on account of not wanting Alicia to go to all the trouble, and Alicia had agreed on the condition that her sister wouldn't try to make it. "...And the turkey is still in the van isn't it?"

Danny makes a face. "It's probably for the best. I'm pretty sure I saw it move on the way here."

Alicia doesn't let her head fall into her hands, but only just. Instead, she takes a deep breath to calm herself down to rally her thoughts. "Alright. It'll be too late by the time we drive to town and buy a new raw one, so we can just get some already made from the store. That good for you guys?"

Jazz and Danny make sounds of assent before all three of them pile up in the car. Town isn't too far away, and the trip is mostly silent. Alicia is hesitating over what to say to cheer up her niece and nephew. In the end, they pull up to the grocery store before she manages to come up with anything.

"Dad was also supposed to bring desert," Jazz mentions as she grabs a caddie and wheels it back to them.

"I made apple pie just in case," Alicia answers. Despite her dislike for him, she can admit that Jack Fenton is a generous man. However, as she has learned over the years, that generosity doesn't extend to fudge. Which is why she's got her famous apple pie ready to pop into the oven.

Danny nods relieved, as he files in behind his sister. The three of them are rolling past the frozen section when a familiar voice cuts through the store music.

"Alicia?"

At that, Alicia looks up to see the face of one and only Martha Kent. Her lips stretch into a smile unconsciously at the sight.

"Martha, hi," she answers as the other woman starts walking closer. "How are you?"

"I'm good," the other woman says as she stops in front of them. "Just doing some last-minute shopping." Then Martha looks to Danny and Jazz and gives them a smile. "And who might these two be?"

"This is Jazz and Danny," Alicia introduces them, "my niece and nephew. They're spending Thanksgiving up at the cabin with me."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Martha says sincerely. "You left your sister and her husband in charge of the turkey, then?" She winks.

Alicia winces. "Ah, not exactly."

"They had a work emergency," Jazz says, unhappy.

Martha lets out a sympathetic oh.

"That's why we're here," Alicia explains. "They left with the turkey without realizing, so we'll have to settle for store-bought this year."

Martha makes a noise of sympathy before her face shifts into something more pensive. "You know," she starts. "I've got a big turkey at home and there's only going to be my son and me to eat it. If you guys would like, we'd love to have you over to help us with it."

"Oh we couldn't possibly-" Alicia starts to protest but Martha takes a step forward and takes her hands.

"You'd be doing us a favour," Martha says, her hands still into Alicia's as she looks up earnestly at the redhead. And damn it all because Alicia can feel a blush spreading on her cheeks at that.

"Alright," Alicia says, too flustered to argue.

Martha squeezes her hands once before letting go and Alicia can't help but miss the warmth of them. "Then it's settled."

"Alright," repeats Alicia. "We'll have to swing back home, though. I made pie."

"That's wonderful!" Martha's smile is radiant and it makes something in Alicia's chest warm.

She disguises it with a cough before speaking up. "Is six thirty too early for you?"

"It's perfect. We'll be waiting for you then," Martha says. "And for your sister and her husband too, if they manage to tear themselves away from work."

"That's not likely," mumbles Danny under his breath. Uncharacteristically, Jazz doesn't say anything about her brother's manners, only putting her own hand on his shoulder. Martha catches Alicia's eye and they exchange a look.

"Well, we'll be glad to have you three, anywho," Martha states firmly which gets her a hesitant smile from Jazz.

Alicia clears her throat. "We'd better get going if we want to be ready in time."

"Oh yes," Martha agrees. "I have to make sure the turkey's not burning." Then she winks, and for some reason, Alicia can feel that pesky blush coming back. It's made worse by the shrewd look Jazz gives her.

"See you soon!" says Martha as she leaves.

"Bye," Alicia answers back a little weakly. Then she looks down to the ground and sighs. When she straightens her head, she's immediately on guard as she catches her niece's smug look.

"What?" Alicia asks warily.

"Is Martha single?" Jazz asks, with a butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth face.

"Yeah," the older redhead answers slowly. "Why?"

"Just wanted to know," Jazz says innocently. And even Danny is looking at his sister suspiciously now. "since you've got a crush on her and all."

"I do no-I don't know what you're talking about!" Alicia protests though she feels her cheeks warming for the third time today.

And now Danny is starting to smirk too as he exchanges a look with his sister. "Oh," he starts as he looks towards Martha's disappearing figure. "This is going to be fun."

[galleryofart]

An English Family at Tea

Artist: Joseph Van Aken (Flemish, c.1699–1749)

Date: c. 1720

Medium: Oil paint on canvas

Collection: TATE Britain

Description

In the 18th century, tea was an expensive commodity, as were the items shown here related to its consumption: the tea table, silver and porcelain. A bitter drink, it was sweetened with sugar, produced in the British colonies in the Caribbean with the labour of enslaved African people. The caddy (tea box) is shown in the foreground. Its contents were normally kept locked by the lady of the household, who is shown dispensing the precious leaves. Tea drinking demonstrated wealth, domesticity and genteel informality. In the 18th century, it came to epitomise civilised behaviour for white Europeans.

[losfacedevil]

Crossroads // DRW

a/n ~ I’m sorry these are taking longer than expected, it’s been a long week in my personal life! But without further ado here’s the next installment in the Valentines Day series! WC: 3.1k

I know that I’m in too deep

Now I’m on this road doing ninety-three

A groan escaped Danny and he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes fluttered shut. A twinge of pain shooting through his chest as he came across your post about being alone for Valentine’s Day. He knew deep down that you had meant no harm by it, your way of venting sometimes being to toss thoughts or memes out into the universe onto your Facebook timeline.

His eyes sprung open and danced around his room, taking in all of the small reminders of you. A card here, a trinket there, the love letter you had slipped into his pocket when he left you the last time and the Polaroid of you both, standing stark naked it his floor length mirror with one of his arms across your chest and the other cupping your core.

He shook his head and pushed himself up into a seated position before clambering out of bed and pulling on his favorite pair of sweatpants. Danny’s mind had been made up and he puttered slowly around his room, collecting enough clean clothes for a four day trip and stuffed them into his well loved duffel bag. He took a deep breath and slipped his feet into his favorite pair of Vans, making sure to double knot the laces as your voice chirped in the back of his mind ‘they’re too long, knot them again.’

A soft chuckle escaped him as he made his way into the kitchen and plucked a few bottles of water from the fridge as well as swiping a couple of Sam’s protein bars from the cupboard. He nestled them all into the soft sided cooler bag you had left behind during the summer and stuffed the matching ice packs into their homes before slipping his arm through the handle. He was quick to jot down a note for Sam, not bothering to wake the man and slapped the sticky note to the fridge before plucking his keys off of the holder and made his way out to the car.

‘I’m off on an adventure, don’t wait up. I’ll let you know when I get to her.

-Danny’

Tossing the cooler into his passengers side seat he slid into the drivers and groaned at the way the coldness of the leather seeped through his thick sweats, cooling his warm skin. Pushing the key into the ignition he roared the engine to life and revved the gas pedal a couple of times, hoping to excel the warming of the car. He rubbed his hands together quickly, enjoying the warmth that spread through them before reaching forward to turn his seat warmer on and threw the car into reverse.

“Florida, here I come.” He chuckled, throwing a look over his shoulder and backed out of the driveway.

~*~*~

You puttered around your house, trying to occupy your mind and not let the anxious thoughts take over. It was unlike Danny to not contact you as soon as he woke up, so having not heard from him as the clock struck 10 o’clock had you a little more than nervous. A soft sigh escaped your lips as you opened up your dishwasher and began to unload the clean dishes and stacked them onto the counter. Your mind reeled with possibilities you knew were most likely untrue, knowing he was more than likely still tucked up cozy in his bed.

You plucked the silverware out of its caddy carefully as to not cut yourself on any of the knives and placed them in the holder in your drawer. Slowly you put the plates up into the cupboard, stacking them gently so the sound of ceramic on ceramic didn’t ring through your ears and rattle your brain.

It wasn’t long before your phone began to buzz, alerting you to an incoming call and you sprinted to scoop it up off of your counter. A sigh of relief slipped past your lips as Danny’s name and face lit up your phone screen. You quickly slid the answer bar across the screen and pressed the phone to your ear.

“Well hello sleepy head, I was wondering when you were going to call.” You giggled, leaning up against the counter. Danny’s chuckle was like music to your ears and another sigh of relief slipped past your lips.

“Were you waiting for my call?” His laugh was one of your favorite things about him and you soaked it up every time one would dance up his chest. You couldn’t help the way you rolled your eyes and reached up to twirl the strand of hair that fell over your shoulder - the hairs so broken by your self soothing twirling habit that the strand didn’t reach your bun anymore.

“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t.” You giggled, letting your eyes flutter shut as a warm feeling exploded in your chest. His voice always soothed your anxious mind and tightened your chest like that of a giddy school girl.

“Aww, please tell me you weren’t actually waiting by the phone. You know how wonky my sleep schedule can be, honey.” You pulled a deep breath in through your nose and rested the phone between your ear and the counter, leaning back on both of your hands and used them for leverage to jump up onto the countertop.

“I meeeeaaan, I was unloading and loading the dishwasher when you called so not… exactly?” You giggled, the statement slipping past your lips in more of a questioning tone. You could picture his face almost clearly, pinching the bridge of his nose and screwing his eyes shut at your confession.

“We’re gonna act like I never heard the ‘not exactly’ part of that sentence. It’s still too early, I think I need to make a coffee.” Danny chuckled. His eyes flickered to his rear view and side mirrors and he tossed on his blinker to cruise across the right lane of traffic - hitting a rest stop along the way.

He pulled into the gas station parking lot and rolled gently into a spot, throwing the car into park and took his phone off of the hands free mount. He quickly disconnected the phone from his Bluetooth and pressed it to his ear.

“What are you doing today? Any big plans for Samuel for Valentine’s Day since you can’t make it to me?” You giggled, picturing the way his eyes would roll and he’d fight the urge to toss his phone across his bed. Danny shook his head and pulled a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled it in a sigh, always one for the dramatics.

“You know what, honey? Yeah actually. I think we’re gonna go to the space museum and out to lunch or something. But don’t worry I’ll FaceTime you so you can join.” A boisterous laugh escaped him as the ending call tone sounded in his ear. If there was one thing about Danny it was that he would do anything to push your buttons.

A soft sigh slipped past his lips as he got out of the car and made his way into the little convenience store. Browsing the selection of single serve pastries - something he knew he shouldn’t be eating - he proceeded to pluck a cheese danish off of the shelf before making his way over to the coffee station. He quickly threw together the most basic coffee, just something to get some caffeine into his system and turned to the cash wrap beside him to pay.

~*~*~

You groaned and tossed your phone off to the side, leaning forward to grab your book off of the coffee table. Danny hadn’t answered your texts all day and your upset towards him grew as the day started to come to a close. You grumbled under your voice to yourself about the joke he had made about taking Sam out on a date, almost wanting to believe him as he hadn’t answered you since. You laid down across your couch, propping your head up on the arm rest and opened your book to where you left off, delving in to the world you left behind this morning.

It wasn’t long before your phone began to ring and you averted your gaze to the clock on the wall. 6:30pm A chuckle escaped your lips and you shook your head as you fished the phone out of the blanket and took in Danny’s smiling face from your caller ID screen. A smug smile danced across your face and you rolled your eyes before sliding the answer command across your screen and pressed the phone to your ear.

“How’d the date go?” You mumbled, not even bothering to greet the man on the other end of the line. Danny laughed down the line and pulled in a deep breath though his nose, exhaling it in a sigh.

“It went lovely, he brought me flowers and everything.” He joked, averting his attention to the bouquet of roses that sat on his passenger side seat. Pulling your lips to the side you shook your head, not really up for his taunting jabs.

“Oh did he now? Were they yellow carnations? Just how you like them?” You teased, knowing it was his go to flower and one you genuinely didn’t like. He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, slipping his arms into the sleeves of the jacket he had stripped off hours earlier.

“Actually it was the biggest bouquet of roses I’ve ever seen. He’s a man after my own heart.” Danny chuckled, carefully wrapping his hand around the base of the roses, being careful not to rustle the plastic and placed them in the crook of his arm.

“I’m sure they were. He really decided to go big or go home, didn’t he?” You knew your tone was dripping with sarcasm, but you couldn’t help the bitterness in your chest.

“He went so big he took me all the way home. What did you do today?” Danny pulled a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled silently as he turned his attention to the door handle and pulled on it slowly to disengage the mechanism. Pushing the door open wide, he slowly swung his legs out and stood; leaving the car door open as he slowly made his way up to the door.

“I read a book, did some dishes, cleaned up a little bit, made a salad for dinner and I was lounging and reading my book before I was so rudely interrupted.” Danny chuckled and stared at your front door, psyching himself up to ring the doorbell.

“Rudely interrupted huh? I didn’t know my nightly phone calls were rude.” He kept his tone light, wanting to keep the mood playful. Pulling his phone away from his ear he muted his microphone and pressed the little doorbell to the left hand side of your door. He let the chime sound fully before unmuting the microphone and pressing the phone back to his ear.

“Honey? You still there?” He asked, his tone a little lower than previously.

“Shh! Someone’s at my door.” You whispered, training your eyes on your front door. You pushed yourself to stand and tiptoed to the door. Reaching over you picked up your set of keys, the small bottle of mace positioned in your hand and at the ready.

“So answer it?” Danny’s tone was nonchalant, almost as if there weren’t any danger standing outside your front door.

“I’m not expecting anybody - this door to door salesman is about to be pepper sprayed. Be ready to call 911 if I need backup.” You whispered, slowly cradling your phone between your ear and shoulder before reaching out and unlocking the door.

You took a deep breath and very slowly turned the doorknob, disengaging the mechanism holding your door in place and slowly began to pull it open. Danny rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, the bouquet of roses still cradled in his arm and he averted his gaze to the clear and Star speckled sky. You poked your head into the crack between the door and the door frame and it took your eyes a minute to adjust.

Danny’s head was tilted towards the sky and a shit eating grin was spread across his face. Your jaw dropped at the same time your phone slipped off of your shoulder and your keys fell from your grasp.

“Danny?!” You couldn’t help the way your voice cracked with emotion as everything that had bothered you about the day melted away. Danny slipped his phone into his pocket and turned his attention towards you.

“Oh hey, didn’t see you there!” He chuckled, watching as the realization washed over you fully. Taking a step forward you threw your arms around his neck and jumped, wrapping your legs securely around his midsection. The roses he had cradles so gently in his arm falling to the cement step below you.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” You squealed, burying your face in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around your middle and pressed a kiss to the skin of your shoulder that was peeking out where the collar of your sweatshirt had shifted.

“I told you I had a hot date with Sammy, didn’t I? Well he couldn’t make it sooo I high tailed it to the first person I knew would want to spend the night with me.” A squeal bubbled up in your throat and you bit down on his neck to stifle the sound.

“Have you turned into a vampire on me?” He chuckled, loosening his grip just a bit as you unwound your legs from his waist and slid down his body to stand.

“I should suck your blood dry for doing this to me.” You mumbled, burying your face into the soft fabric of his sweatshirt. Danny wrapped his arms around your shoulders and swayed your bodies gently.

“I can’t take you out for a real dinner if you suck my blood dry. I’d be dead as a doornail then.” Danny chuckled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of your head. You pulled in a shaky breath, trying to will the overwhelmed tears that welled up in your eyes away. But your body and mind betrayed you as the tears slipped down your cheeks and slowly soaked the fabric of his sweatshirt.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, sweet girl, I’m here. I wouldn’t miss spending Valentine’s Day with you.” Danny mumbled, tightening his grip around your shoulders. You pulled a deep breath in through your rapidly stuffing nose and nodded, pulling back from his embrace to finally look up at him. His big brown eyes shone bright in the dim glow of the porch light, the sun having set fully an hour prior.

“You let me think I wasn’t gonna see you. I was so mad at you that you didn’t even say Happy Valentines Day on the phone earlier.” You grumbled, smacking your hands lightly against his firm chest. He couldn’t help but laugh at you as he pulled his hands off of your hips and reach up to wrap them around yours, quickly ending your soft assault on him.

“Hey, that’s not means to beat me up, now is it?” He chuckled, bringing your hands up to his face and pressed soft kisses on the back of your hands. A frown tugged at the corners of your lips and you pushed your bottom lip out in a pout as you caught his gaze for the first time all night.

“Do you see how I look? You wanna take this rats nest looking thing out to dinner?!” Your words slipped out on a whine and you fought the urge to stomp your foot like a child. Danny laughed at your outburst and placed his hands on your shoulders, slowly spinning you in his grasp and walked you back into the house.

A wide smile spread across his face as he clicked the door shut softly behind him and turned to face you. Your arms were crossed protectively over your chest and your eyes danced over his figure, taking in the matching black sweat pants he wore.

“You look as good as I do.” You giggled, nodding your head in the direction of his matching tracksuit. He made a face and shook his head as he slowly closed the distance between the two of you.

“I don’t know if I should be insulted or take that as a compliment.” He chuckled, reaching out to cup your cheeks in his hands and he leaned down, pressing his lips to yours. You couldn’t help the gasp you pulled through your nose at the sudden contact and reached up, wrapping your arms around his neck to keep him in place. You melted into him, all of the anger and anxiety the day had been filled with fully melting away at the feel of him.

“What was that for?” You mumbled as he pulled away and reached up, pushing a few stray hairs behind your ear.

“Putting up with my bullshit. I couldn’t tell you I was coming and ruin the surprise. Your reaction was exactly as I was hoping for - minus almost getting pepper sprayed.” He chuckled, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Oh sure scare me shitless and make me cry, great fucking Valentines Day gift.” You giggled, reaching your bare foot out to kick at his shoe. Danny’s eyes lit up at the word gift and he stuck his hand deep into his pants pocket.

“Speaking of! For you, honey.” He cooed, opening his fist to show a tiny jewelry box. Your eyes widened and you reached out, scooping the box out of his hand and cradled it in yours.

“Daniel Robert what have you done?” You questioned, slowly opening the box to find a small heart shaped dangle charm engraved with both your initials and his. Your eyes grew wide as you took in the small silver charm, carefully flipping it over to find your anniversary date engraved on the back. Danny’s eyes sparkled at your reaction and he reached forward, gently opening the clasp on your bracelet to remove it from your wrist.

“It’s about time your chain has a friend.” He chuckled, waiting for you to unbox the charm and slowly slid it onto the chain he was holding.

“Danny! Those charms are expensive. Thank you.” You felt a fresh wave of tears spring to your eyes as you watched him secure the bracelet back around your wrist.

“And you’re priceless.” He mumbled, wrapping his arms securely around your waist and pulled your body flush against his. You giggled softly and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, causing him to scrunch it up and lean forward slightly to rub it against yours. A soft sigh escaped you as you melted into his touch and tucked your head into the crook of his neck, hiding your face from him as you couldn’t contain the smile that spread across your lips.

TAGLIST: : @vanfleeter @silks-up-my-sleeve @readyforthegarden @ascendingtostardust @sammykiszkamyass @belovedsamuel @writingcold @stardustvanfleet @sinsofstardust @sunfl0wer-power @gracev0609 @the-wicked-gnome @takenbythemadness @klarxtr @joshsindigostreak @runwayblues @allieisacrybaby @wideminded-dreamer @dannythedog @dannyandthekiszkas @josh-iamyour-mama @sanguinebats @itsafullmoon

[scoobydoowhatareyou]

I’ve watched seven episodes of “Scooby Doo and Guess Who?” And here’s my findings so far:

Daphne Blake:

-Alfred Pennyworth (Batman’s butler) is her sort-of uncle/temporary butler/family friend/substitute polo player

-She speaks 76 languages

-She can kind of fight, but she closes her eyes when she does

Velma Dinkley:

-She can identify the make, model, and stress level of a fan by sound for some reason

-She knows an insane amount of things that she totally should not know, but that’s just Scooby Doo for you

Fred Jones:

-Doesn’t understand sarcasm

-Shaggy calls him Freddy (this will be important later)

-The mystery machine has a secret parachute

-He painted the mystery machine himself (no surprise there)

-Fred hates being left out by everyone else because they do everything together (he gets separation anxiety)

-He doesn’t like letting other people drive the van

-Do people headcanon him as autistic? Because I think it makes sense

Shaggy Rogers:

-He’s read every Sherlock Holmes book and his a huge nerd

-“Pretty clear I have no pride, because I am not above eating a dumpster burger”

-Gets separation anxiety when Scooby is gone

-Shaggy used to be a golf caddy for basketball legend Chris Paul, who is a close friend of his

-He was a famous golf caddy with fans

Scooby Doo:

-He has a smart phone

-He has a genuine Scooby Snacks addiction and goes through withdrawals after going without them for a few hours

-Wanda Sykes tried to adopt him and he turned her down because he didn’t want to leave Shaggy

-He is not immune to toxic masculinity

I don’t think I started where I should have, but it’s fine

[annakie]

Fixing The House, Chapter 8: Master of Bathrooms

Part One: I Do Not, In Fact, Have the Power

Part Two: Let’s Spend Lots of Money!

Part Three: All These Things That I’ve Done

Part Four: I Really Want to Stay At My House

A little interlude.

Part Five: Power Down

Part Six: You Will Leave Some Paint

Part Seven: Backwards to go Forwards

Part Eight: Master of Bathrooms (YOU ARE HERE)

Part Nine: Within a Room, Somewhere

Part Ten: Rooms With No View

Part Eleven: Big Bang Room Part A and also Part B!

Part Twelve: We Can Make It On the Outside

Part Thirteen: Mauve Haze Symphony

Part Fourteen (A) - In the Kitchen

Part Fourteen (B) - Copper Green

---

Thought a lot the last couple of days about what to start posting about next and I think I'm ready to show y'all the Master Bathroom. Then who knows what else next update.

I was surprised that a house this small (1100 square feet!) had two full baths. That's kind of a lie... the master bathroom shower/tub was uhhhhh... not a full tub? It was truly a size that I had not seen before. I honestly don't know where they would have even gotten the tub. Maybe it was custom built? I'm sure it was from the 60's.

Posted a couple of "Just bought the house" pics above. Let's take a look through the last 21 years of this bathroom and how we got where it is today.

TBH this post is ridiculously long for the smallest room in the house, oh well.

It's not a big bathroom at all. It fit the three things you need for the requirement of full bath, sure, but that's about it. And, of course, everything in it was original to the house built in 1963 or AT BEST it's possible from the 1980's.

It was also, ya know, gross.

I posted this in the previous update but that's the wallpaper I was met with. It had a barebones mirror, and NGL, I did kinda like this lighting? Honestly, it kinda ruled. I miss it a little. That was the only good thing in this room.

It's a bathroom with a window that looks out on the patio, and that window has always been gross and cloudy.

Even today, that window is there, Arturo promises me the new one should be in next week, so I will probably post another pic or two once that comes in.

I think the pics now posted in here are the only ones I have of the original.

With my near-zero budget after buying the house, all I could really afford to do in here was clean it as good as possible, new shower curtain and rug, and slap some fresh paint on it after taking down the wallpaper, which I believe was very easy in here, at least. I don't remember a struggle.

The original color scheme I went with was purple and green, basically to honor my paternal grandmother, who had recently passed and those were her colors.

Oh also put up this very cheap little shelf in lieu of a medicine cabinet.

lol look at that joke of a shower. The showerhead and shower caddy were also new.

A like $5 thrifted little Van Gogh print, the height of sophistication I could afford. (It's actually STILL THERE, RIGHT NOW. I really DO love it.)

Ugh, those green blinds. Hey at least the window was covered with SOMETHING!

I was very, very proud of myself, I put that little cabinet together and put it up all by myself.

It's still up! I do wish I'd gotten a bigger one with a shelf underneath, though.

So that's what it looked like late 2003 until 2012.

Around 2004 I started realizing that if took a shower for too long, water started leaking out from the wall under the window under the trim. Yep I'd shower and then the floor would be flooded.

I just stopped taking showers in there.

Honestly the tub ended up being storage. I kept the cats carriers in there so I could get them in there and then get them in their carriers without much problem. Anytime I fostered cats, it became the stray/foster cat room until they trusted me enough to let me pet them.

It was essentially a half-bath for the last like 18 years.

In 2012 when my parents and I did bathroom renovations, things got better!

Ooh, much prettier!

The new toilets were one of my favorite changes ever. Big, tall, sturdy ones I've never had a problem with.

I had been thinking about selling the house so the purple and green were changed to beige, to match the sink. Also new towels, rug, etc. Kept the same shower curtain for then, but in the next year or so I changed it.

Accent over the shower, on the small wall by the toilet and on the windowsill was a brownish orange. And kept light green for all the linens.

Yeah the window like I said is still that terrible window, FOR NOW.

Also... did y'all notice anything missing?

LIKE SOMEWHERE TO PLUG IN A HAIRDRYER OR LITERALLY ANYTHING!?! A bathroom... without an outlet. When I had roommates, I'd have to blow dry my hair in front of my vanity in my bedroom. So annoying.

So one of the original like 5 things Arturo was brought in to do, that kicked off everything else was to put an outlet in that bathroom. It's on a wall that isn't as convenient as I'd like it to be, but Arturo has A Technological Reason it has to be there, so I'll take it. With the rewiring, it's also surge protected, so even though it's not as great as I want it, it's a small compromise I can live with.

---

I didn't take a single picture of consequence in the master bath in the next 12 years or so. Honestly sometimes I'd go a month or two without even going in there.

For the years when Patchy lived in the master bedroom this was a little extra space for her, but she rarely went in there.

The other purpose it served was the place where I kept the bag of food for the outside cats. Sometimes also extra kitty litter space, overflow medicine, TP etc. space... but all in all it was pretty neglected space for a long time. I'd clean in there once every six months maybe to mostly get rid of dust. I only used it either in the middle of the night, or when Patchy was alive to spend a few extra moments with her while taking a bathroom break.

At one point a few years ago I tried turning on the shower just to see what would happen and I couldn't even get the knobs to move.

---

Getting this bathroom fixed up was secondary to the hall bath, since that was the main bath. So when I showed Arturo the bathrooms to see what he thought, I stressed that this one was not important, maybe just if he could get the knobs working and knew why the water would flow out from the wall.

But his price was so good, of course I wanted to get both done.

Since we needed one bathroom to work, and this was the one most fucked up, he started there, as the first project they'd do after the electricity was mostly put back together and working.

---

I hadn't even noticed the demo had started (remember most of the work was happening while I was also working, like, my job, even though it's WFH!) and so the first time I walked by the bathroom and saw this I honestly wanted to weep with joy.

The fiberglass... the weird-ass tub... gone. Just a hole where it all was, and a hole in the ground as well. They dug through the cement and dirt underneath to figure out what the hell was wrong with the plumbing.

Welllllllllllllllllllllll... it turns out what the hell was wrong with it was that it wasn't connected to the sewer.

Like... the pipe was just draining right into the ground. And when the ground was saturated, the water crept up into the wall and came out that way!

Arturo told me it was a really good thing I'd stopped using that shower. I'd managed to avoid a dangerous and costly black mold problem.

So, Arturo fixed it and hooked the plumbing back up to the sewer.

He replaced all the piping you see exposed there.

There was no shower pan in the really weird size of that space, so Arturo had to build the new walk-in shower with cement. He made a mold, poured cement both for the little wall and the new floor, and for a few days, we left a fan pointed at it and let it cure.

---

Also the reason for that one square out of the accent wall was Arturo wanted to see if there was any wasted space in that intersection where the back of the fridge, the back of the hall bath and the shower/toilet area of the master were all kind of meeting up. Turns out... nope. All the space was used. It got patched, you can't even tell there was a hole there now, you'll see.

You'll also notice there's a curtain on the window. Like I said, I'd found a new shower curtain set I really liked not long after the 2012 renovation. I also picked up the matching rug. And I liked the shower curtain so much that I bought a second one that my mom made into a curtain for the window! With the extra material, she made a curtain for her own bathroom window.

So it came time to pick out new colors for the bath, I spent a lot of time with my BFF Sherwin Williams Swatch Book. After awhile, I went all in on using the colors from the shower curtain as the colors for the room.

(I also spent a few hours scouring the internet for a backup shower curtain and FINALLY found one on Ebay in great condition. Considering I bought it around 2013 I was thrilled. It's now in the linen closet waiting for the day when this one gets a little rough. It's fine now, remember I'd never even taken a shower while this shower curtain was in the room. I'm still looking for a backup rug. Anyway, back to paint.)

Contented was a shade darker than the curtain, maybe a little greener, but I fell in love with that color and wanted to use a soft green as the standout color, because the tile and wood in the room weren't changing. The Bathroom would be very beige and brown, so the Contented green would keep it from being too beige and brown.

And I fell in love with Llama Wool the moment I saw it. I know you should never let a color's name influence your decision, it's just what some person at Sherwin-Williams (in this case) decided to call it, but Llamas are sort of a thing with my friend group, and I wanted to use that color as a bit of a tribute to them. It was, again, a shade or two darker than the brown in the shower curtain, but I thought it'd look great.

----

I'm not posting pictures until THE REVEAL because of THE DRAMA, okay? I think it'll be worth it.

Arturo brought a sample of the ceramic main shower tile, 89c per really big piece. It was beige, would match the floor OK, and was perfectly neutral. It was great, a place we could get some savings so there'd be more money for important things.

Accent Tile was another big thing for me. I had always, always, always wanted glass mosaic accent tile in the shower and above the sink. I tried to get my dad to do some during the 2012 renovation but he said no, that was too much work for that weekend. So I was determined to use accent tile I loved.

Arturo had brought me a couple of samples and I'd okayed two of them, but they'd yet to be bought past that. One of them I loved and had marked it for the hall bath, the other I'd thought was fine, and thought I'd put it in the master.

And slowly my mind changed.

First I thought the one I loved would work better with the shower curtain and Llama wool. It was $15 sq/ft, which was definitely on the higher end of the budget, but it was worth it, and putting it in the master would mean we'd just need less of it.

(Arturo said we spent about as much on the main tile as we did 2 pieces of the accent tile, haha.)

And then Arturo told me I needed to find a tile for the shower floor, and I should go to Home Depot and/or Lowes and find something.

TBH, I spent time on both of their websites, then went to Amazon. I'd been browsing a lot of like, Pinterest and just google results of bathroom renovations and knew I wanted a pebble-style tile for the floor. I couldn't find exactly the right thing to match with the accent tile I adored for the master.

And then I looked on Amazon.

And I fell in love instantly. Without consulting Arturo, I bought five boxes of it at almost $90 a box. I didn't care. I had to have this.

I showed it to Arturo on Monday and he was like "YES. PERFECT. I'm glad you didn't wait, let's get started." Unfortunately only 3 boxes had shown up that day so it was a couple of days delay.

Next was picking out a grout that would work with the wall tile and accent tile and floor tile.

I picked a light beige one, the color of sand, on purpose, hoping it would fit my vision for the shower floor.

I also had to pick out shower fixtures... a showerhead/controls. Arturo suggested something to me, and it aligned with what I also really wanted. It was another place where I decided it was OK to splurge.

The master bath shower was just a useless space to me for so long... I wanted it to be perfect.

---

One day, I think it was a Saturday, I walked by the shower as the tile was going up and uh, I noticed that the main tile was going awfully high and realized that the guy installing it had forgotten about the accent tile. The accent was just one stripe around face-high. I stopped him as politely as I could in my slight panic and called Arturo. Also, I just realized, Arturo had yet to create the shelf, which would also include the accent tile.

Luckily, the mud was still fresh on the wall, and only two rows had to come out. The tile could also be salvaged after cleaning off the back. Arturo got there later that day and got the shelf made. A day or two later, the accent tile went on and a few days later, the shower was finished.

Okay enough words... here's the first pic of the finished shower.

Y'all.. I love it so much. SO. MUCH. Rainfall showerhead, a sprayer hose... the floor looks like you're walking on a sandy beach. I literally wanted to weep with joy... idk I might have, when I saw it all together like this the first time.

Still lots to do, but that night was the night I posted the little interlude where I talked about how so much is happening and how I had no time.

When work was done that day, I was so excited to take a shower.

And then my shower curtain rod was now too long, even at the minimum size, since the tile had added like an extra inch.

I wasn't deterred. I went to Home Depot, then Lowe's, then Target trying to find a shower curtain rod I loved to replace the old one. Each place only had shitty cheap rods in that small of a size and none were brushed nickle. So I bought a $7 rod (and a new curtain liner) and a few other things like shelf liner at Target... then went home and ordered a rod I loved on Amazon. When that was done, I took my first shower in the master bath in like 18 years.

And it was fucking MAGICAL. It was like being in a spa. I showered maybe longer than I'd ever showered in my life, definitely the longest I've ever showered in this house.

To me, for the last 20 years, showers were a fucking CHORE that I had to get through. You'll see when I talk about the hall bath more about why. I just absolutely hated showering -- not the getting clean part, obviously, but just being in the shower, either shower, in my house. I wanted to get out ASAP.

I just stood there and was like... I love being in here. This is the most beautiful part of my house right now. I want to stay in here for hours.

I washed my hair twice. I moved my facewash in there to have more to just do in the shower.

It's like going to the spa, every night.

I'd bought new towels, Turkish bathsheets. Huge, soft, absorbent.

Luxury.

Something I never thought I'd associate with my house.

My shower was beautiful. Maybe the first thing I'd ever really associated with that word in this house.

I look forward to my nightly shower now.

I'm using getting to go take it as a reward for finishing this post. :D

---

(Oh, oops, I forgot to show you the shelf! Btw, did you notice the COPPER in the backsplash? Have I mentioned I love copper? You have no idea how much I love copper. Just you wait.)

The one thing that I didn't love was that little shower head on the hose. It had nearly no pressure. So I ordered two new sprayer heads, one for each shower. Much better. And this one has a switch you can flip for a high-pressure sprayer hose to help clean the shower/tub easier. Not as sleek, but very worth it.

A few days later I walked by and smelled paint. Peeked in and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

....someone had painted the bathroom.

The Wrong color.

It was painted the same peachy color as the master bedroom, not my Contented green (and no sign of Llama Wool!) Arturo facepalmed and pointed out the right color to his worker.

This is wrong and bad and LOOKS TERRIBLE.

Eventually, it was painted right and I loooooved it.

Also hey, there's the new outlet! See, not that convenient, but livable. I can recharge my toothbrush with the stand on the windowsill, and a hair dryer plugs in there just fine. Way better than none!

The dumb little shelf came out. We literally ran out of the accent tile with ONE MORE TO GO at the edge of the sink. Then our local Lowe's was out of it. And then the one near Arturo's house was out of it. I refreshed the Lowe's website for like two weeks until it was back in stock, and one Saturday ran straight over there, picked up the one tile and a couple of other things I needed, and it sat here in the house a couple more weeks. Just this week it got put on and grouted, lol. SO NOW I can show you pics of the sink area, too!

---

Beige Turkish hand towel (tbh they are like half the size of a regular towel, I love it.) The same decent cabinet as before but now elevated by its surroundings. Beautiful backsplash keeping the wall safe.

Oh, and that faucet?

My old faucet... the plunger part was broken so it would no longer close and the sink wouldn't hold water. Arutro was all "Oh, I have one in my shed you can just have." So he threw that in for free. It's a Delta! FOR FREE! He even installed it for free.

Y'all, I have so much to say about Arturo, he's amazing.

Now the faucet is chrome and the rest of the bathroom fixtures are brushed nickel, but tbh, I don't care. It works, and it looks nice, and it's a well-respected brand, and it was free. I'm HERE FOR IT.

Also, notice the wall color... I am very content with Contented. It's just the right amount of color against all the beige and brown.

And yes, the medicine cabinet has a place where you can insert your own photo under the glass, and YES I have had that medicine cabinet since 2012 and YES IT STILL HAS THE "Insert your own 8x10 photo here!" paper in it. LIKE I SAID this room was neglected. I am happy to report that I have ordered an art print I like that will be in there in a few days.

----

There were a couple of other improvements here. A new overhead light went in, replacing the old overhead light, this one has a fan. Yeah, there was no fan in this bathroom before, lol. And LED lighting. It's much brighter and nicer.

I also got a very basic bidet for both toilets. That just went in a couple of days ago and I am still getting used to it. It's COLD, didn't get a fancy heated one.

One thing we're going to talk about later is the trim and doors and stuff throughout the house. This is the only room that retained the Cream color that I used to have throughout the house as the trim.

You can really see the difference in this pic. Also, Fry!

There's an amusing story about the cream color on the trim that belongs elsewhere, that and the window were the reasons I'd been holding off talking about this room for awhile but, eh, screw it. You can see the windowsill and trim on the floor are that cream, so is the inside of the door. The shelf above the toilet also got painted that color, and it all blends really well I think. I painted the windowsill, door and the cabinet myself.

And yes, the floors need a real good cleaning. They ALL do. There's paint splatters and various other stains all over all the floors. I'm going to tackle all of it at once, when everything is done. No point in having to do it multiple times.

---

So here's the finished product, all that stuff all done and the Llama Wool color on the accent wall!

This pic I just took tonight, for this post. The bathroom is more or less complete.

I love it. It went from the room non grata to one of my favorite places in the house. And when I post this, I'm off to take a spa-like shower in it before enjoying a dessert and a couple of hours of TV time before bed.

My only regret is that I really wanted to use the Llama Wool color more. I wanted to do the windowsill and trim in that color but Arturo insisted he'd have to buy a different kind of paint for it, which would be an extra expenditure I couldn't justify, especially since we already had the right kind of paint in the old cream color and it also looked great in there. I honestly almost felt bad for having him buy a whole can of paint just for that one tiny accent wall, but I don't regret it! I tried to think of other places in the house it could have been used but... there aren't any, really.

Thank you, btw, for coming along on these extremely long, self-indulgent posts with me. They're largely written so I can look back at this time and marvel and what Arturo and I did, and how a lot of money and work was all worth it. This bathroom is just one course of several of what's to come! There are three (or four) other rooms that I now love just as much as this one. :)

[littleladymab]

OC Kiss Picrew Meme!

hi friends i know i've been absent from the writing meme tags for a hot minute mostly because i signed up for an event that is making me finish this giant fic i've had haunting me and that has been taking over my brain.

but i get tagged in a oc smooch picrew meme? well, count me IN.

Thank you to @mysticstarlightduck for the tag! You can see all of their OCs right over here 💞

so here's five otps smoochin'! If you want to do it, here is the picrew!

Catoir Altair/Ayn Starling (Eradicate)

uh the oc otp to end all oc otps!!! they are everything to me!!!! Catoir belongs to @bottlingsound (and yes I'm also tagging you in this give me the tinsel version!) Best friends, soul mates who find each other in every universe, doomed, what more do you want????

Kaito No/Rhys Darcy (Emanate)

STRUMS MY GUITAR!!!! they're so silly. Kaito thought he was straight until he fell in love with his best friend, so we call him 'heterhysexual' because well, it's only Rhys. They're gonna grow old together.

Raif Van to Yuen-Ha/Cateryn Caddis-Dowell (Still Waiting)

Actually my oldest OC OTP!! I'm supposed to be working on a 20 year rehaul but it's been slow going because, wow, plotting a novel is hard. Anyway you ever love a woman so hard that you learn a forbidden magic in order to save her soul when it gets separated from her body? I love how I'm revamping their relationship, because I wanted to include "older" queers in my writing (they're like late 30's but originally, they were straight teens, so you know, they age with me).

Sera/Arika (Mwyr)

TFW you fall in love with the goddess, who is physical embodiment of the sun! And then she makes you her court historian so that you can stay close by her and she can listen to you lore dump about the history of her world.

Penelope Straylight/Kerrigan Kestrel (HOWL)

Penelope gets hired to be Kerri's bodyguard though she's not too sure what Kerri needs guarding from beyond the fact that she's Way Too Pretty for her own good. Turns out that Kerri might be a super genius who totally isn't a jedi and is definitely the daughter of a high ranking government official and Nelo stole the identity of a bounty hunter who is expected to turn her in for a hefty sum of money. But first they gotta kiss about it.

Please enjoy, I love to think about my OCs kissing, so if you want to see any specific OCs of mine, just also lmk. Also, you all should do this so I can see YOUR OCs kissing!!!!

Tag List: @krisseycrystal, @rkmoon, @jadeoxfordrose,

@sentfromwolves, @ybotter, @luukeskywalker

@scribble-dee-vee, @redtailedhawk90

[allthebestcowboyshavedaddyissues]

Favorite Seinfeld episodes?

anything past season one (jk.....no but really....)

ALL TIME FAVORITES—IN SEASONAL ORDER:

2.08 The Heart Attack

2.11 The Chinese Restaurant

3.03 The Pen

3.06 The Parking Garage

3.07 The Cafe

3.15 The Suicide ★

3.18 The Limo

3.22 The Keys

4.01-2 The Trip ★

4.04 The Ticket

4.07 The Bubble Boy ★

4.08 The Cheever Letters

4.09 The Opera

4.13 The Pick

4.15 The Visa ★

4.17 The Outing

4.18 The Old Man ★

4.20 The Junior Mint ★

4.23 The Pilot

As you can see season four is dearly loved by me LMFAO

5.03 The Glasses

5.04 The Sniffing Accountant

5.05 The Bris

5.11 The Conversion

5.13 The Dinner Party ★

5.14 The Marine Biologist

5.20 The Fire ★

5.21 The Hamptons

5.22 The Opposite

6.01 The Chaperone

6.02 The Big Salad

6.03 The Pledge Drive

6.07 The Soup

6.18 The Jimmy

6.22 The Face Painter ★

Season 7 episodes 1-7 all FAVORITES

7.11 The Rye ★

7.12 The Caddy

7.14 The Cadillac ★

Season 7 episodes 19-22 bbbbbbangers

8.01 The Foundation

8.03 The Bizarro Jerry

8.04 The Little Kicks ★

8.05 The Package ★

Season 8 episodes 7-11 kill me

8.14 The Van Buren Boys

8.16 The Pothole

8.19 The Yada Yada ★

8.21 The Muffin Tops

8.22 The Summer of George

9.03 The Serenity Now★

9.05 The Junk Mail

9.10 The Strike

Season 9 episodes 11-20 PHENOMENAL 💖

9.22 The Finale IS OUTSTANDING DON'T LET ANYONE SAY DIFFERENT! #LOCKTHEMUP

sorry i went crazy anon.

[mystardustmelodyyy]

A tale of love, lust, & crime!

I’ve had this rattling around in my head for a while 💋

Thank you to my girl @remotewatch for playing editor this time! 🌹

Beverly Hills, 1971

Lieutenant Amato had been in the homicide department a long time. Eighteen years, to be exact- he’d questioned his fair share of widows. There was no doubt in his mind that Sabrina Van Ecken, the thirty-one year old housewife who was serving him fresh lemonade in her garden less than 48 hours after highway patrol found her husband belly up in the Pacific, was suspicious. But goddamnit, she was charming.

“These are heirloom roses, they’re much more fragrant than your modern varietal,” she chirped, handing him an iced drinking glass and a digestive biscuit. “You’re more than welcome to take some for your wife. How long did you say you had been married?”

Amato pushed up a grubby, coffee stained sleeve and accepted the treats. “It’s our silver anniversary this weekend.” He grunted.

“How grand!” Sabrina’s gold bracelets jingled like little bells as she clasped her hands together with glee. Then with an utmost seriousness, she removed her oversized sunglasses and looked him directly in the eye. “Lieutenant, I’m going to be straight with you. I’m glad Todd’s dead. But I didn’t kill him.

How brazen! Amato nearly choked on his biscuit. He dabbed the corner of his mouth with a nearby doily and composed himself. “That’s quite a statement, Mrs. Van Ecken.”

The young widow nodded and gingerly tucked some glossy strands of dark hair behind her ears., “I loved him in my own way you see. He wasn’t cruel or violent. But- and I’m sorry to speak ill of the dead so quickly- he was an ignoramus.”

“An ignoramus, miss?”

“Yes you know the type- doesn’t vote, leaves the toilet seat up, thinks Julia Child’s recipes are too exotic, that sort of thing.”

“I see.” Amato replied, thankful that years on the force had trained him to keep his cool even under strange circumstances like this one. “Do you know anyone who would want to kill him?”

“Oh plenty. Todd had a lot of enemies.” She nodded matter of factly, “His investor that he pantsed at a company meeting, all the country club caddies, servers he never tipped, I could go on. I don’t know what I expected, marrying into oil money.”

Amato scribbled furiously on his notepad. “What about his business partner that moved in recently? Jonathan Mollier?”

“Jonathan?” Sabrina’s expression softened “they had a complicated relationship as well. But it worked somehow. I can say with certainty, lieutenant, that if Todd had lived we would have stayed married and Jonathan would have been in business with him forever. Now that he’s gone… god rest his soul… we’ve both got a new lease on life.

“There has been talk of you two spending a lot of time together.” The lieutenant broached, raising his eyebrows. Sabrina just smiled.

“And they’re right! Jonathan has been helping me with the orphaned sea turtles foundation that I made through the company. Todd never was one for philanthropy, you see.” She took a long sip of lemonade. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but accidental death hasn’t been ruled out yet, has it?”

“It has not. As I’m sure you’re aware, your husband had enough DUIs that we are seriously considering that angle… by the way, is Jonathan Mollier from THE Mollier family? The ones on the east coast?”

“That’s correct. You’re a sharp one, lieutenant! I’d say you should question him too but he just went out paddle boarding. Perhaps you could come back later this week. I can arrange for some flowers to be made into a bouquet for your wife as well…”

⛵️⛵️🍒🍒🍒⛵️⛵️⛵️⛵️🍒🍒☀️☀️☀️☀️

Lieutenant Amato left with a box of biscuits, a carafe of lemonade, and a spring in his step. Gosh, if only someone had told Sabrina in her younger years that manipulating the police was so simple! She might have had a glamorous stint as a cat burglar on the French Riviera in another life.

“He’s gone?” Jonathan Mollier, fresh off the paddle board in an unzipped wetsuit trotted towards the rose garden where Sabrina was waiting for him, arms outstretched.

“Yes,” Sabrina beamed, “I made him my famous lemonade.”

“Excellent, my love. The sooner we can get them to rule it an accidental death, the sooner we can leave town.”

🌺🌺🌺🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Beverly Hills, 1971, two months earlier

If you’d asked Jonathan Mollier as an expat what it would take to get him back to the states, Todd Van Ecken would not have been on the list. In fact, when he’d met up with his former roommate during his last trip to New York, Todd proposing they go into business together initially came off as one of his infamous pranks. Until he started listing off facts, figures, and lucrative stock options. Todd even said that Jonathan could continue working in Japan from time to time, although he did want him to be primarily based in Beverly Hills with him. Jonathan, who had admittedly been feeling rather unmoored abroad since the birth of his sister’s second child and the passing of his beloved uncle, saw no better reason to return. California for a business venture- the perfect mix of new opportunities and old stomping grounds. When Todd picked him up from LAX Jonathan felt light and open, although that may have been partly due to the qualuudes his doctor had prescribed for the international flight. Even Todd’s erratic driving and excessive application of Old Spice while en route to his Beverly Hills mansion seemed charming rather than tiresome.

“So you’ll be in the guest suite on the west wing,” Todd said, flicking a cigarette butt out the window of his Jaguar Roadster “it ain’t the Ritz or anything but it should be roomy enough for those funky surf boards of yours”

“Paddle boards..” Jonathan corrected as he gently dusted stray ashes that had fallen onto his new YSL sport coat, “thanks again for letting me crash with you for a bit. I know nothing about California real estate.”

“Sure thing, you’re saving my ass here. Using my folks oil seismographs for consumer electronics was all fun and games until I realized I needed someone who actually understood the technology.”

“Oil man turned calculator entrepreneur is certainly a leap.” He agreed. “But if I learned anything at Toshiba, it’s that there’s a massive demand for chip tech. Anyway, I swear I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“Don’t worry about it. Sabrina’s excited to have someone else in the house anyway.”

“Sabrina?”

“Yeah, Sabrina. My wife, ya dill weed.” Todd laughed. “You would’ve known that if you came to the wedding instead of sleeping on the floor in Japan or whatever it is you do over there. We’ve been married six years now.”

So it was the same girl. Todd had caused quite a stir amongst their old Yale classmates when he married a girl he’d met in Vegas less than a month after meeting her. It was rumored to be a shotgun wedding and when a baby never arrived it caused even more of a scandal.

“The ADPhi brothers and their wives still avoid her like the plague for god knows what reason” Todd continued, seemingly predicting his reaction. “Kinda bullshit, if you’ll pardon my French. I mean, what qualifications does a wife need, right? But she’s a sweet girl, you’ll like her. You both care about animals, believe it or not! Although I’ll tell ya, she’s been on my ass lately about getting a dog. She won’t shut up about it! But I told her, ‘no way Jose I don’t want those mongrels in the house’. I mean really! You’ll back me up on that, won’t you Jonathan?”

Jonathan rolled his eyes; the qualuudes hadn’t worn off, but Todd’s charm was waning to say the least. He gave a noncommittal “Mmhhmm” before drifting off to sleep as Todd continued to yap his way through the roads of Los Angeles county.

♥️♥️♥️♥️⛵️⛵️⛵️🌺🌺🌺🌺🍾🍾🍾

The Van Eckens tried out a few rental properties before committing to buy when they’d settled in Los Angeles. First it was a high rise on Wilshire Boulevard, but the lack of greenery made them both stir crazy. Then it was a Pierre Koenig house in the Hollywood Hills, which to this day Sabrina maintained was stunning, but Todd was disturbed by the amount of right angles. Eventually they settled on a neo colonial style mansion with a rounded balcony, lush landscaping, and easy access to the ocean. When Jonathan exited the Roadster, the bracing sea breeze felt like a shot of espresso.

He’d packed modestly for his flight- just a trusty Hartman suitcase and the treasured attaché that belonged to his late uncle. Most of his belongings were set to arrive tomorrow morning. Jonathan took it upon himself to unpack and freshen up when he and Todd entered the house with no Sabrina in sight.

“She’s around, I’ll find her.” Todd shrugged. “Your room is up the stairs, second door to the left if you wanna get settled. The phone in there isn’t connected yet but we’ve got another in the kitchen. Holler if you need anything.”

Getting his belongings in order didn’t take long at all, but putting his to-do list together was another matter. He needed to call his folks now that he was back in the states; they’d be at the Martha’s Vineyard house this time of year. Then there was renewing his driver’s license, touching base with investors, replacing his shoehorn that broke in transit to California… It was dizzying. Oh, how he longed to take an impromptu dip in the ocean and forget all his responsibilities! Luckily the sun had begun to set, so kicking back in the leather Marsala lounge chair setup and turning on some music seemed like a completely reasonable course of action. Jonathan even indulged in one of the pastel mints that had been artfully composed on top of his flanged pillow, like icing on a lambeth cake. There was a stationary card too, featuring a message written in big loopy script.

Welcome back, Jonathan!

Below the message there was a drawing that could only be Todd’s contribution; a rendering of the Hanna Barbera character Hong Kong Phooey breaking a cinder block, with a word bubble above the cartoon dog’s head.

It’s about damn time! Hi-ya!

Jonathan politely folded the card stock in half so that only the first message was visible.

As he began to fiddle with the radio controls, he could vaguely make out a woman’s voice chatting with Todd downstairs followed by the sound of agile footsteps pattering up the staircase and an airy “I’ll be down in a jiffy!”

Jonathan, who was in no rush himself, settled on the USC radio station before strolling to the bay window, surveying his new digs. The rose gardens in the back of the house were even more stunning than the impeccably trimmed boxwoods in the front landscaping. He was thrilled to see there was a slight view of the ocean in his room, albeit partially obscured by what appeared to be the master suite. Man, those California sunsets really were something. Cotton Candy clouds dotted the sky as gold light flooded into his room, and for a moment, Jonathan felt an all consuming wave of calm wash over him. So much so that he almost missed the leggy brunette in tennis whites dash into the master suit and beeline for the closet, disappearing behind a buttery yellow curtain… the elusive lady of the house!

She does, indeed, change in a jiffy. Not even a minute goes by before Mrs. Van Ecken comes out clad in a Pucci mini dress and twirls happily in front of her vanity mirror, mane of dark hair bouncing around. Jonathan was transfixed. But, as she began to tie a matching scarf into her hair she paused, frowning.

What could be troubling such an exquisite creature?

Not even a nanosecond later, she darted back behind the curtain only to return in a plain, wool shift dress. She stared blankly into the mirror, arms akimbo, before throwing them up in frustration and retreating into her sartorial lab. It was almost comically in tune with the frenetic Beatles song blaring on the radio.

Ah, she's got a ticket to ride

She's got a ticket to ride

She's got a ticket to ride

But she don't care

The third time she emerges she’s in a fluffy pink bathrobe carrying an armful of options that were still on their hangers. A boho printed maxi dress? No. A frilly, wide collared babydoll frock? No. A slick ivory jumpsuit? No, no, NO. Each contender was held up to the mirror and discarded with increasing force while Paul, John, Ringo and George descended into musical cacophony.

My baby don't care, my baby don't care

My baby don't care, my baby don't care

My baby don't care, my baby don't care

This is when she sees Jonathan, who realized that he had gone from mild observation to fully studying the scene before him with rapt attention. Surely the long flight was to blame for him forgetting his manners? How uncouth of him! He scurries to the bay window drapery and quickly mouths “Sorry” to her, hoping the blush flooding his cheeks isn’t visible across the way.

She just smiles and gives a little wave as she mouths back “It’s ok!”

Jonathan nodded awkwardly, still flustered, and closed the drapes. He threw on a fresh cashmere polo and smoking slippers before heading downstairs. Given the time difference his parents would likely be in bed already, but maybe he could ring one of his sisters before dinner.

🍦🍦🍒🍒☀️☀️💋💋✨✨🐠🐠

TO BE CONTINUED 💋💕

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

🦘 Booklr Reads Australian - Authors on My Shelves 🐨

so, I’ve been trying to think of a way to recommend a lot of Australian authors really quickly for Booklr Reads Australian. what I came up with was just to give y’all a giant list of all the authors I have at home! 

most of them are YA and/or fantasy authors, and I’ve marked my favourites with an asterisk (*) but if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask 😊

1. Sarah Ayoub 2. Eugen Bacon 3. Shirley Barber * 4. AJ Betts 5. Danielle Binks * 6. Cally Black 7. Steph Bowe * 8. Alice Boyle 9. JC Burke 10. Meg Caddy * 11. Frances Chapman 12. Wai Chim * 13. Claire Christian 14. Lyndall Clipstone 15. Claire G Coleman 16. Katherine Collette 17. Harry Cook 18. Cath Crowley 19. Robyn Dennison 20. Cale Dietrich 21. Lauren Draper 22. CG Drews * 23. Michael Earp 24. Kate Emery 25. Sarah Epstein 26. Alison Evans * 27. Fleur Ferris 28. Carly Findlay 29. Helena Fox 30. Lisa Fuller 31. Emily Gale 32. Meg Gatland-Veness 33. Sophie Gonzales 34. Erin Gough * 35. Leanne Hall * 36. Pip Harry 37. Sonya Hartnett 38. Adam Hills 39. Simmone Howell 40. Megan Jacobson 41. Amie Kaufman 42. Melissa Keil 43. Nina Kenwood 44. Sharon Kernot 45. Kay Kerr * 46. Will Kostakis 47. Jay Kristoff 48. Ambelin Kwaymullina 49. Benjamin Law 50. Rebecca Lim 51. Gary Lonesborough * 52. Kathleen Loughnan 53. Miranda Luby 54. Tobias Madden 55. Melina Marchetta 56. Ellie Marney * 57. Freya Marske 58. Jodi McAlister * 59. Margot McGovern * 60. Nikki McWatters 61. Anna Morgan 62. Jaclyn Moriarty 63. Liane Moriarty 64. Garth Nix 65. Lynette Noni 66. Carly Nugent 67. Poppy Nwosu 68. Kate O’Donnell 69. Shivaun Plozza 70. Michael Pryor 71. Alice Pung 72. Emily Rodda * 73. Autumn Royal 74. Omar Sakr 75. Holden Sheppard 76. AG Slatter 77. Jo Spurrier 78. Krystal Sutherland * 79. Jared Thomas 80. Hayli Thompson 81. Gabrielle Tozer 82. Christos Tsiolkas 83. Alicia Tuckerman 84. Ellen van Neerven 85. Marlee Jane Ward 86. Vikki Wakefield 87. Lisa Walker 88. Jessica Watson * 89. Allayne L Webster 90. Anna Whateley * 91. Samantha Wheeler 92. Jen Wilde * 93. Rhiannon Wilde 94. Lili WIlkinson 95. Gabrielle Williams 96. Rhiannon Williams 97. Fiona Wood 98. Leanne Yong 99. Suzy Zail 100. Nevo Zisin 101. Markus Zusak

[ahvinculos]

#VÍNCULOS:

sabemos que para algunes es tarea difícil armar conexiones, por lo cual nos esforzamos por hacer de la experiencia algo parecido a un juego. debajo del read more hay una lista con más de cien ideas de las que pueden hacer uso para formar conexiones entre personajes, ya sea que quieran usar la idea así como está o bien utilizarla para profundizar en sus vínculos. lo único que pedimos es que se cumplan las reglas aclaradas a continuación.

INSTRUCCIONES:

les invitamos a compartir una publicación de presentación de sus personajes. recuerden que pueden darle rb desde el blog de vínculos o bien compartir dicho post en el canal de conexiones en el servidor de discord.

pueden hacer uso de cualquier #LUGAR y, si gustan, pueden crear sus propias situaciones en los mismos. en caso contrario, tienen opciones de las que elegir también.

si quieren, pueden dar uso a más de una situación entre dos personajes.

también está permitido armar conexiones POR FUERA de este listado siempre y cuando se respeten las reglas, queda a elección de cada une.

REGLAS:

en primer lugar, les recordamos que la selectividad no está permitida, por lo que les alentamos a formar conexiones con todos los personajes del grupal.

tengan en cuenta que llevan en la ciudad entre uno y dos años, por lo que vínculos como "amigos de la infancia" no estarán permitidos.

tampoco se permitirán los siguientes, en orden a evitar el rol burbuja y que se limiten a dinámicas preestablecidas: ex novios, novios, intereses amorosos directos (es decir, pactar desde ahora que van a estar juntos al iniciar el rol), matrimonios, compromisos y amigos sin compromisos.

#LUGARES y #SITUACIONES.

#LUGAR. en la inauguración del restaurante de la familia zelenka. #001. compartiendo la mesa de degustación. #002. conversación en la barra de cócteles. #003. se cruzan en el baño porque uno de los platos no les ha caído muy bien.

#LUGAR. en el museo de arte de aurelia hills. #004. participan de una visita guiada. #005. coinciden en una actividad interactiva donde los visitantes pueden crear su propia obra de arte. #006. ambos participan de un taller de pintura o escultura organizado por el museo.

#LUGAR. en el aeropuerto de aurelia hills. #007. se conocen durante un retraso en el vuelo. #008. coinciden en la sala vip. #009 comparten un vuelo privado hacia aurelia hills u otro destino.

#LUGAR. en un festival de música llevado a cabo en aurelia hills. #010. se encuentran en la zona vip durante un concierto. #011. coinciden mientras disfrutan de un show al aire libre. #012. comparten una mesa en el buffet del festival.

#LUGAR. en una fiesta de gala en la lujosa mansión de los shin. #013. coinciden en la pista de baile. #014. ambos son invitados de honor. #015. ambos se escapan y coinciden en la sala de entretenimiento de la mansión.

#LUGAR. en el club de polo. #016. participan en un torneo de polo. #017. ambos se anotan en un curso de polo. #018. en un partido benéfico en el que todes participan, les toca ser equipo.

#LUGAR. en un torneo de golf. #019. coinciden en la enfermería. #020. se encuentran mientras dan una vuelta en el campo de golf. #021. hacen una apuesta y uno termina siendo el caddie del otro.

#LUGAR. en una subasta de arte benéfica en la galería de los vorosky. #022. ambos participan en la puja por el mismo artículo. #023. coinciden en la recepción previa a la subasta. #024. les toca en la misma mesa y se divierten ofreciendo sumas exorbitantes de dinero para obligar a que el resto suban sus ofertas al máximo.

#LUGAR. en un evento de caridad en el exclusivo salón de baile. #025. coinciden en una actividad de recaudación de fondos. #026. participan en el comité de la organización. #027. ambos son reconocidos como los mayores contribuyentes del evento.

#LUGAR. en un paseo en yate durante la regata anual. #028. se conocen mientras disfrutan de un cóctel en la cubierta. #029. participan en una actividad de equipo durante el evento. #030. se encuentran al sentarse a disfrutar del atardecer.

#LUGAR. en un spa de lujo en el centro de bienestar de la ciudad. #031. ambos participan en una clase de bienestar y relajación. #032. por error, les agendan el mismo horario en el jacuzzi. #033. se conocen durante una sesión de yoga exclusiva.

#LUGAR. en una de moda de la familia satsuki. #034. participan como modelos. #035. les toca sentarse juntos al costado de la pasarela. #036. coinciden en la fiesta posterior al desfile.

#LUGAR. en una competencia de tenis en la cancha privada del club deportivo local. #037. se enfrentan en un partido de tenis. #038. se conocen mientras disfrutan de un refrigerio. #039. apuestan uno en contra del otro mientras ven un partido.

#LUGAR. en un almuerzo en el exclusivo restaurante en la cima de uno de los tantos rascacielos. #040. uno le quita la reserva al otro. #041. comparten la mesa durante un almuerzo. #042. ambos se escabullen a la parte trasera de la terraza para disfrutar de la vista en tranquilidad.

#LUGAR. en una clase de equitación dictada por la familia svensson. #043. ambos participa en una actividad de salto ecuestre. #044. coinciden durante el paseo a caballo inicial. #045. ambos son enviados a peinar y preparar un mismo caballo.

#LUGAR. en una carrera de autos en el circuito de carreras de lujo. #046. ambos participan en una competición de karting en el circuito de principiantes. #047. se conocen en el área de pits mientras se acercan hablar con gente del ambiente. #048. coinciden en una pequeña exposición de autos de lujo que acompaña la carrera.

#LUGAR. en una exposición de joyería fina de la familia galván. #049. coinciden en un pequeño taller de joyas organizado por la familia. #050. ambos se acercan a la matriarca de la familia para preguntar por la misma joya. #051. se chocan entre sí y desparraman por accidente una bandeja llena de piedras preciosas.

#LUGAR. en un té de la tarde en la mansión histórica de los vanderbilt. #052. se conocen mientras exploran los hermosos jardines de la mansión. #053. uno tira una taza de té encima del otro por accidente. #054. se enfrascan en una competencia de quién puede comer más pastelitos en toda la tarde.

#LUGAR. en una cata exclusiva en la bodega de la familia couronne. #055. comparten la experiencia de participar en la cosecha de uvas. #056. coinciden en una subasta de vinos de colección poco comunes. #057. ambos participan en una visita guiada por la bodega.

#LUGAR. en una ruta de senderismo en las montañas privadas. #058. se conocen en una zona de descanso panorámica durante la ruta de senderismo. #059. ambos se encuentran en una pequeña cascada en la montaña. #060. uno encuentra al otro un tanto perdido.

#LUGAR. en una conferencia de negocios en el centro de convenciones de élite. #061. se conocen durante una sesión de networking. #062. ambos participan como oradores en la conferencia. #063. ambos forman parte del panel de discusión y debate a lo largo del evento.

#LUGAR. en un evento llevado a cabo por la familia suwannarit en celebración del día de la naturaleza. #064. se conocen mientras participan en una caminata. #065. ambos colaboran en la plantación de árboles en una reserva. #066. les toca compartir un pequeño paseo en kayak en la laguna local.

#LUGAR. en una exposición de tecnología de vanguardia en el centro de innovación fundado por los zhang. #067. coinciden mientras interactúan en las exhibiciones. #068. ambos participan en la demostración de práctica de un nuevo dispositivo. #069. se conocen durante una charla de un destacado inventor.

#LUGAR. en la sala vip del casino de la familia vila. #070. jugando uno contra el otro en una mesa de póker. #071. uno le roba al otro su trago en la barra de cócteles. #072. se conocen durante un torneo de blackjack.

#LUGAR. en un concierto íntimo y privado ofrecido a familias seleccionadas de parte de la familia montague. #073. ambos son seleccionados para participar en el karaoke después del show. #074. se encuentran durante la sesión de autógrafos después del concierto. #075. comparten mesa en la cena previa al show.

#LUGAR. en una conferencia sobre la protección ambiental realizada por la familia cattaneo. #076. se conocen mientras participan en mesas de discusión sobre estrategias de conservación. #077. coinciden en un voluntariado. #078. se encuentran al acercarse a los organizadores para realizar una donación.

#LUGAR. en un evento caritativo para la búsqueda de curas de diversas enfermedades realizado por la familia montalvo. tw: sangre. tw: agujas. #079. ambos colaboran en la recaudación de fondos durante el evento. #080. realizan donaciones de objetos de valor para la subasta. #081. se encuentran al anotarse como donantes de sangre y médula osea.

#LUGAR. en un evento caritativo orquestado por la familia hidalgo. #082. se ofrecen como voluntarios para actividades sociales a las afueras de aurelia hills. #083. son voceros en el evento. #084. reciben el reconocimiento como mayores contribuyentes a la causa.

#LUGAR. en un evento de presentación y prueba de vehículos de la última línea llevada a cabo por la familia whittman. #085. ambos participan en una actividad de conducción off-road. #086. se conocen en la presentación de tecnologías avanzadas integradas en los nuevos vehículos. #087. se conocen en una mesa de inversionistas en la empresa de la familia.

#LUGAR. en la fiesta de navidad realizada por la familia de vries. #088. les toca ser el amigo invisible el uno del otro. #089. les toca disfrazarse de mr. y mrs. claus. #090. coinciden en una esquina del salón de la fiesta mientras disfrutan de las delicias navideñas.

#LUGAR. en una degustación de café llevada a cabo por la familia atalay. #091. se conocen mientras participan en una cata de granos de café. #092. participan una clase de barismo exclusiva. #093. se anotan para aprender sobre el proceso del tostado del café.

#LUGAR. en un evento de deportes electrónicos organizado por la familia park. #094. coinciden mientras participan de un torneo de videojuegos. #095. ambos son parte de una liga de deportes electrónicos. #096. coinciden en una zona de realidad virtual durante el evento.

#LUGAR. en una subasta de aviones de lujo llevada a cabo por la familia havoc. #097. se conocen mientras participan en la puja por un avión privado. #098. son invitados a una sesión de demostración de vuelo. #099. se conocen en un curso de seguridad aeronáutica.

#LUGAR. en el cumpleaños del padre de la familia grimaldi-casiraghi. #100. ambos obsequian el mismo regalo al cumpleañero. #101. uno le tira la bebida encima al otro en pleno brindis. #102. ambos participan de una actividad de juego organizada como parte de la fiesta.

#LUGAR. en la fiesta por el día de la independencia de la familia graze-juri. #103. se conocen mientras se quejan con los organizadores por el uso de la pirotecnia. #104. participan de un desfile temático en el evento. #105. les toca en la misma mesa a la hora de la cena.

#LUGAR. en la fiesta de la familia baek por la celebración del estreno de su reality show. #106. aparecen al mismo tiempo en la alfombra roja del evento. #107. se conocen mientras disfrutan de una cena temática con comida típica surcoreana. #108. coinciden en una entrevista con la prensa.

#LUGAR. en la apertura de una de las torres de shoppings más grandes de la ciudad llevada, un proyecto realizado por la familia campbell. #109. se conocen mientras exploran las nuevas tiendas exclusivas. #110. participan en una sesión de fotos para publicitar el lugar. #111. ambos participan de una sesión de compras personalizadas.

[healerqueen]

50 Favorite Children’s Books

Inspired by Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s list of his earliest literary influences. This list is limited to books I read in childhood or youth. 50 Childhood Favorites

Caddie Woodlawn and sequel by Carol Ryrie Brink

Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink

The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, and sequels by Elizabeth Enright

Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery

The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Derwood, Inc. by Jeri Massi

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Heidi by Joanna Spyri

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Family Grandstand by Carol Ryrie Brink

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

Cheaper By the Dozen and sequel by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Rebecca’s War by Ann Finlayson

The Lost Baron by Allen French

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

Captive Treasure by Milly Howard

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Silver for General Washington by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft

Emil’s Pranks by Astrid Lindgren

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Freddy the Detective and Freddy the Pig series by Walter R. Brooks

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Robert Lawson

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

The Bridge and Crown and Jewel by Jeri Massi

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Young Adult:

The Eagle of the Ninth and other books by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Buffalo Brenda by Jill Pinkwater

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret (a nonfiction memoir)

Picture Books:

Make Way for Ducklings and other books by Robert McCloskey

Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman

Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman

Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner

Ice-Cream Larry by Daniel Pinkwater

Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant

Discovered as an Adult: Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The Armourer’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff

Urchin of the Riding Stars and the Mistmantle Chronicles by M.I. McAllister

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Escape to West Berlin by Maurine F. Dahlberg

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

The Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan

Courage in Her Hands by Iris Noble

Knight’s Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff

Victory at Valmy (Thunder of Valmy) by Geoffrey Trease

Word to Caesar (Message to Hadrian) by Geoffrey Trease

The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo

Seventh City by Emily Hayse

Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus

Valiant by Sarah McGuire

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

[idealisticrealism]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Cleaning Lady FOX (@cleaningladyfox)

New trailer! Which means new details for me to obsess over lol, so get ready

First, there's a shot at the airplane hangar with a bunch of masked dudes in vans shooting the place up-- so looks like Thony's plan to bring meds from The Philippines (and to bring Fi back) will run into a big roadblock there. Probably a rival cartel (likely Sin Cara?) trying to prevent her bringing drugs onto their turf. But ugh also it looks like Arman's caddy is there????? Thony is there in her girlboss outfit when the shooting happens, so I'm guessing she was the one who drove the caddy there to keep up her appearance as the badass crime lady from 2x12 (which means she would have had to go to Arman and Nadia's house to ask Nadia for it probably?). But oh god I don't think I could take it if the caddy got destroyed... please writers, show some mercy!

In one clip we see Thony sitting on the floor in Luca's room crying with a bottle of alcohol beside her, and she's looking at her phone- the trailer makes it look like she's talking to Fi about the price on her head, and she probably is, but what if it's a sneaky cut of a different phone conversation, and in that scene she's actually talking to someone about Arman??? ughhhh help me

Thony goes to someone to get in touch with the cartel, and then we see her basically offering her services to Jorge's sister Ramona (which makes sense; she has a skillset that she already knows is valuable to criminal organisations and which has saved her life before. Why wouldn't she try offering it again?), and then Ramona says that they will protect her family. So either Jorge and Ramona are part of a rival cartel from Sin Cara and are protecting her from them in exchange for her special cleaning lady skills, or they are Sin Cara (whether Thony knows it or not) and choose to use her rather than kill her, because doing so both eliminates the threat that her drug smuggling posed to their business, and also allows them to repeatedly punish her for it until they eventually do decide to kill her.

The glimpses of Jorge picking her up to go clean up a body in some kind of warehouse are clearly meant as parallels with those kind of moments she had with Arman, but I'm really hoping that the writers will flip the expectations there, and instead of having the same kind of partnership that formed between her and Arman happen again with Jorge, they write it to be much more antagonistic and captor/captive. After all, Arman had to put her in those tough situations because it was the only way he could prove her worth to Hayak and keep her safe; whereas Jorge very much seems to be the man in charge, which means he is putting her through all of that just because he can.

Anyways this 'new chapter' they keep pushing better be Thony's mob queen era and not her new romance arc that's all I'm saying lol

( @igetthebag @prhiswife @psharlovee you guys got any thoughts lol?)

[littleladymab]

Still Waiting Duology (a wip intro for @moon-and-seraph's WORDS INTO POTIONS March event)

Genre: Fantasy (low fantasy, magic and second world, but only humans) Summary: After graduating from the country's most prestigious magical academy with no real interest in signing up for a tour of "border patrol", Cateryn drags her best friend and duel partner Jigar to tour the country with her -- hoping that maybe her restlessness will finally settle. She has no home to return to, and no idea of what a future is supposed to look like. When one year threatens to become two, they finally stumble upon three people whose struggles resonate with Cateryn's: Raif, who lost their father, their wife, and their future to one torrential storm and decided to leave home to save their mother the trouble of an heir who couldn't uphold the family name; Kira, a seer whose powers resulted in xir becoming a political prisoner when xir home was invaded; and Arris, Kira's husband who was helpless to save his employer and suffered at the hands of the occupying force before he could get himself and his spouse to freedom.

For the first time in a long time, Cateryn finds herself wanting to stay in one place and to open up to the people around her, even though Jigar thinks they should keep moving on. Because the two of them are destined for great things, he likes to say, but she knows what is best, and he's content to stay with her. Except for the past has a way of catching up with everyone, and they all find themselves dragged into political responsibilities as the neighboring country is getting agitated with an increasing number of border disputes, and rumors of something more than the usual bandits roaming the south.

And when Cateryn's past involvements with her father's spirit magic come back to haunt her, she has to decide if she wants to accept that part of her, or reject it and everything that comes with it before its too late. Etc: writing tag || pin board

My goal this month is to finish the outline for at least book 1 if not both books, and to GIVE IT A PROPER TITLE. And, between this and SD, hopefully write 4 chapters/about 10k.

Main Cast

Cateryn Caddis-Dowell (she/her); between 24/28; skilled at offensive/battle magic || playlist

Raif Van to Yuen-ha (they/he); between 28/32; dishonored heir to the Yuen-ha family; mediocre alchemist || playlist

Jigar Soru (he/him); between 26/30; skilled at defensive magic; "self-taught" spirit mage || playlist

Kira Dittmar (xe/xir); between 23/27; diviner/seer who would like to be retired || playlist

Arris Dittmar (he/him); between 29/33; sword for hire, just happy to be here! (he doesn't have a playlist yet I'm sorry)

Snippet

Raif didn’t even bother trying not to look miserable. If their mother wanted to make a spectacle out of their humiliation, then she’d have to do it with a sulking heir.

“Which part of this is the worst?” Cateryn asks, startling them out of their reverie.

“Pardon?” they ask in return, straightening their posture just a bit now that they’re the center of someone’s attention.

She gestures to the ballroom. “It’s the taffeta, personally. I am sweating like it isn’t the dead of winter in the north, and everyone can hear me from a mile away.” She says it low, conspiratorially, and they can’t help but laugh. “Ah, there it is.”

“The key to the taffeta’s undoing?” they whisper back, reaching out to ruffle her skirt. It whish whish whishes loudly beneath their touch.

“No, your smile.”

They snort into their wine glass. “Please, Cateryn, you don’t need to skulk about with me because you feel sorry for me.” It’s hard to keep the bitterness from their voice as they mirror her gesture towards the room. “My mother isn’t trying to humiliate you.”

They don’t mention how they noticed the way Aiden had been doting on her all evening despite this being a party for him.

“Is it wrong of me to want to keep you company?” she asks innocently. “You know, better yet, want to get out of here?”

Raif pauses with the wine glass against their lips. Leave the party early? Without saying hello, yes, I’m well thank you, yes I miss Linna and my father terribly but I’m sure Aiden will do a splendid job where I’ve failed as a child, but at least I don’t have to be my mother’s son anymore — Aiden can do that, to every one of Uyen’s friends?

The thought sends a frisson of rebellious delight through them, and they pass their half-finished glass to a nearby server. “More than anything,” they say, and Cateryn answers with a grin.

She takes their hand — in front of their mother, the family gods, and everyone — and tugs them towards the exit on the far side of the ballroom.

Uyen doesn’t call after them, but Raif can feel her disdain follow them into the hall.

[wickdcreatures]

          📝 muse ; felix. MAJOR trigger warning for stalking.

          I saw him today, where I thought he would be, with his hand around the waist of a new woman. It makes me sick to think about. 

It’s a new letter — dug up from the depths of Felix's van after a thorough cleaning, one that he insisted he do himself. There was too much in there to busy someone else with, or there wasn’t enough work to worry about — he really never could get his lie straight. But this letter, written hastily on an old, crusty piece of notebook paper fashioned to a worn out garment bag is a new addition to the ever growing box he keeps hidden away in his study, placed gingerly on top. 

          To say that I wish that were me is a lie. I see how he eats them up with his eyes and throws aside their empty husks when he is done with them. I’ve seen the public meltdowns from girls that think they were different from all the rest. And I’ve heard the rumors that those are the lucky ones.            But what I will say is that I wish that I could get that close to him — and one day, I will. One day we will meet and he will take one look at me and realize he would like nothing more than to waste time with me. I will become his favorite plaything. 

Felix has always been known well for his immaculate handwriting; swooping curls and perfect cursive, impressive considering his left handedness. His penmanship in this note is rushed, frantic, hard to read, and full of misspellings. Rage comes off these words, as if the emotion itself was steeped into the paper as he wrote.

          I found his car today, too — that mint green caddy convertible I always see him in. Stupid, pretty boy left his doors unlocked, and even if he hadn’t, he left his windows down. Is he inviting me in? Does he know I’m here? It feels like an invitation, like a birthday surprise; he left me a designer sweater. I don’t know what brand it is, but I don’t really mind. ( IT’S MOSCHINO, YOU IDIOT. ) Is this what he smells like? When was the last time he wore this? 

Inside the garment bag is the sweater — bold colors and bolder patterned, in remarkable shape given the state of the bag it’s held in, as though it’s maybe only been worn three times in total. Once opened, the garment bag reveals more than just the secret of the sweater — from it falls a plain, white envelope, lazily ripped open. Whatever was inside had long since been lost, but the envelope itself remained, and so did the handwritten scrawl on the front.

          But the greatest gift he could have left me? His address.