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concealeddarkness13 · 3 years

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WHG 15 Post-Games Imposter Syndrome Part 28

This is a couple days after part 27! Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses (also thanks for Conor!), and @thoughts-of-nora!

Just as Aurora said, I was scheduled for an interview a few days later. It probably was to announce the masquerade, but I was the only former tribute to be having an interview this time. So, what else did they have planned?

I walked into room where Priscilla Cristal would be, but she wasn’t there. I frowned at the older man who stood off to the side, spreading out a floor length, midnight blue dress. And no coat or hat.

He looked normal enough. He had the same color eyes as me, and he looked kind of familiar. But I couldn’t place where he was from. He noticed me standing there and bowed. “I’m sorry, Ms. Reeves. Ms. Cristal sends her regrets, but she is swamped with other orders, so she is not available to be your stylist anymore. My name is Dior Hawthorne, and I am a stylist working under Ms. Cristal.” He held out his hand for me to shake.

I nodded and walked forward, shaking his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” I looked over at the dress and cocked an eyebrow. “Unfortunately, you must have missed a memo. I only wear pirate outfits. Or at least a long coat and hat.”

His lips quirked down. “I would love to fulfill your request, however, the Capitol has required me to stick to a certain outfit. I am not able to change what they have required.”

Shit. What the hell were they planning? I just nodded and got changed when he left the room, and he came back in to work on my hair and makeup. It was pretty standard, at least nothing flashy (especially because I had finally gotten rid of all the fucking glitter from last interview yesterday). And he pulled up all my unruly hair into a bun. Wow. Now, that was a metaphor if I ever saw one.

When he was done, he hesitantly put a hand on my shoulder. “Stay strong, Ms. Reeves. I’ve only heard whispers of what they’re planning, and I am not particularly fond of it.”

I frowned a little. He was chatty, wasn’t he? “You might want to be careful about who you tell about what you’re feeling about the Capitol. For all you know, I could love the Capitol.”

He laughed a little and winked. “I think I know my own blood better than that.” And he left.

Wait, what? Blood? Like related? What did he mean by that? I had to push that out of my mind, however. I had to deal possibly with Bystander and whatever the Capitol was going to throw at me now.

And Bystander wasn’t around. So, I just walked over to the elevator I would take to get on stage. The Peacekeepers waved me on, and I walked out into the flashing lights and screaming audience with a smile on my face.

“Welcome to a very special interview with our very own tribute, Triel!” Caesar paused and winked at the crowd as I sat down. “So, you must have noticed that Triel never really talked about her family during the pre-Games, or even the post-Games. There is a reason for that. She is actually an orphan. At least that’s what she believes.”

The crowd sighed, and Caesar pouted his lips in fake sympathy. Oh boy. What were they planning? “She grew up in District 10, away from any luxury or love or family.” Sympathy from the crowd. “It must have been horrible for you, Triel.” He looked over at me with fake sorrow, and the smile slipped from my lips. That was the best I could do with the shit Caesar was saying.

“Well, I did some digging, and I found out that it’s not entirely true that Triel is an orphan. It’s such a closely guarded secret, but I found out who Triel’s mother and father are.” He paused. “Do you want me to tell you?” The audience roared, and Caesar pulled out something that was signed by my mother. He showed it to me first, and my eyes widened as I read it. Was this true? Or did the Capitol lie again?

Then he held it up and waved it for the audience. “I figured out who Triel’s mother was, and I understand why the Capitol wanted to keep it a secret. If someone had figured it out while she was still unsafe, who knows what would have happened to her? But now, she’s safe, so I can reveal the information.” He paused for dramatic effect again. “Her mother is Maria Shasten.”

The audience gasped. Made sense, she was probably a celebrity in the Capitol because she had been chosen by the Shades. The people with the magic that the Shades didn’t hold onto were contracted out to basically do party tricks.

“But that’s not all.” Caesar smirked over at me. “Yes, being the daughter of one of the ones bestowed with magic by the Shades would be reason enough for someone to take her, but I figured out who her father is. And he is none other than a highly important assistant to President Snow,” paused for dramatic effect again, “Creston Fallion! And he is here today!”

He walked on stage with a smirk. He was known as a cruel advisor to Snow, at least among the people of the districts. He only cared about what would entertain him, and he was one of the main supporters of more brutal and deadly Hunger Games. But I had to admit, he did look enough like me that people would believe it. Shit.

I stood up when he walked over to me, and he took my hand and kissed the top of it, all the while smirking at me. Then he turned to Caesar. “I am so happy to finally meet my daughter in person. I have loved what I have seen of her so far on the TV. She is endearing and witty. I can’t wait to talk with her myself.”

“Triel, I should probably call you Triel Fallion,” hell no you shouldn’t, “how do you feel now that you know you are part of the Capitol instead of stuck with the legacy of the districts?”

I forced a smile on my face as I kept looking at Fallion. It was most likely a lie. Churi wouldn’t be so pissed off if my father had been a Capitol official. But still. Even the remote chance that I was related to a piece of shit like him made my stomach lurch. And would I have to spend time with him now? Brilliant. “Absolutely excited! I had no idea I had such an esteemed family. I have been alone for so long, I can’t imagine having a family again.”

They seemed satisfied with that. Caesar looked away from me, back to the crowd. “And just to make it official, Creston has agreed to adopt Triel so she will never have to worry about the districts again.” Fallion squeezed my hand tighter, and my stomach dropped. “She is one of us now, and she always will be!” The crowd roared, and he pulled me into a hug. He was holding me too tight. Shit.

“In celebration of all the wonderful announcements the past few weeks, there will be a masquerade in four days, and the former tributes will all attend! Tickets will go on sale tomorrow, and there are a limited number, so you better act fast!”

The crowd roared, and Caesar gestured at me one last time as Fallion basically pushed me off the stage. When we were out of view of the cameras, he leaned closer to me, still smirking. “I’ve heard all about your sharp tongue from Aurora. I think you’ll amuse me tonight.”

My stomach dropped again, and I couldn’t find my voice. I actually had to be near this trash of a human being now? And I couldn’t do anything about it. Shit.

“7/10 for the lovely lady, I’m sure the shock is the only reason for a not perfect score tonight, but for the unfortunate—pardon me, unexpected side character I’d hesitate to even give a 1/10 really. Far too smug, and I’m the one saying it.”

I jumped and looked up to see Bystander leaning against the wall, studying his nails. I frowned. “What the f—”

Fallion clamped his hand over my mouth and shook his head. “Such naughty language. No daughter of mine will speak like that.” I tried to push back away from him, but he just grabbed my arm in a too tight grip, while still keeping his hand over my mouth. Then he looked over at Bystander. “And I don’t believe you’re needed. I’ll keep her in line tonight.”

Bystander stood up, and his grin was sharp and all teeth. As he stepped slowly forward, his eyes flashed, and some other parts of his face seemed to shift back and forth in the blink of an eye. What the hell? I just stared at him as he kept his attention on Fallion. “But why silence such entertaining wit and charm, truly it’s part of how she’s even gotten here, isn’t it? And I’m almost never needed, and yet I think this is one of those rare occasions where I am. You see, I’ve never been a fan of mortals thinking too highly of themselves, it’s such an obnoxious noise, don’t you think, my dear? Now I do so hope those idiots have informed you of just what roles we are all supposed to be playing? If not allow me to be the first to inform you that you’ve played yours for the night, so please get. Your hands. Off. Her.”

Fallion just stood up taller too. “I am one of the people in charge of this foolish endeavor to make the Capitol happy about what happened, and you are beneath me. So, leave.”

Bystander laughed, cold and humorless. “I do not work for the Capitol or the Shades for that matter, and I am beneath very few. I also don’t like repeating myself, though I will give you just one more chance, because I am curious what exactly you think you can do that Churi and our star have not already done?” He seemed to take only one step, but he was already in front of Fallion, still smiling with his hands clasped behind his back. “Or have you asked about my sudden inclusion in all this? Perhaps you haven’t been trusted quite as much as you think. Not as important as you think. Or maybe you’re just not bright enough to heed the warnings.”

I flinched when Fallion let go of me, his face contorted in rage. “You little peasant.” He went to slap Bystander. Was Fallion going to be killed before my eyes? And did I feel bad about that at all? No. I just watched with morbid curiosity.

Bystander grabbed Fallion’s arm and then wrapped a hand around his throat the next second. “Tsk, tsk, I do hate this part, here I normally prefer to avoid these encounters with words, but clearly you’re worth even less of my time than I initially thought.” He lifted Fallion up above his head, as if he weighed nothing. Bystander turned back to face me, and all I could do was stare. I should have been used to that, since he had acted so nonchalant with me threatening his life before. He sounded bored when he spoke. “Oh, I guess we are beneath him in this instance. While I do hate being proven wrong, I suppose I can accept this instance. Now, can I let you go or will try that again? After all I’m sure if anybody wished to question they would find this was self defense since you went to strike me first.” He smirked up at Fallion with a raised eyebrow.

Fallion was actually smart enough to shake his head and run off after Bystander let him go. He was…actually gone. I shouldn’t have to deal with him tonight. I fell back against the wall and sunk against the floor. “Thanks,” I whispered.

He waved it off, and stared off after anyone who dared linger. “That was hardly any energy, Triel, still far more than he was worth though, but far less than what I’m willing to exert for—well never mind that.” He looked back at me, actually looking serious as he looked me over. “Do you require any sort of medical care, or is it simply shock of the idiocy of that performance?”

All that I needed was a distraction. I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I stood up and smirked over at him, brushing off the question. “Well, that interview was certainly a show. How would you rate that reveal? It was pretty standard as ‘learning of secret family you never knew about’ goes.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Boringly so I’ll agree, I dare not even rate it. Honestly, can they not learn new tricks, after all, you’re already their precious darling considering everything else that has led up to this point. Besides, it takes very little digging to uncover the lies of it all. At least it served the purpose of the masquerade being justified, as if they truly need that. Still, it will only make you more valuable to them, if only to keep you safe until then. Tell me, have they asked for how you wish to dress for it? I fear a pirate will break the illusion of mystery for the night.”

I shook my head. “No, they’ll probably choose my outfit again. Like this one.” I eyed him. “Do you find it to your tastes?”

“Hmm, it hardly appears as you, or at least the you I have seen before, more styled to appear as another vapid member of them. Though I suppose that was the point in all this wasn’t it? To somehow prove that you’re no different while also holding you on a pedestal?”

“You think those costumes were any different? I didn’t even pick out my last costume. You did. So, then, what would you prefer me to be wearing?” I leaned a little closer to him and lowered my voice. Distraction would be appreciated.

“Those others were meant to make you appear different from them, even if they were nothing more than costumes as you put it. But they were still similar enough to the style you yourself chose. As for my preferences, well perhaps you will get the chance to see them soon enough. I assure you, they will be more to your tastes than the Capitol image presented previously, costumes have their uses after all but I tend towards a certain level of beauty and charm.” He looked over at me pointedly, smirking.

I laughed a little. “Tell that to your reaping outfit. That lacked both beauty and charm.”

“A costume, a role to play to get what I want. But tell me, do I lack those now? Be honest, I would hate to miss out on your sharp tongue.” He spread his arms so I could see well.

And, damn it, he looked good. A nice, sharp suit that wasn’t gaudy or even stood out at all. But I couldn’t actually admit that. I cocked my head and smirked. “Still a 6/10.”

“Tell me, my dear little thief, what would I have to do to get a perfect score from you?”

Maybe I’d admit it eventually. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.” I smirked over at him. “Anyway, why did you come see me after this interview? Did you just miss my company?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Will you believe me if I say yes? It’s no secret that I enjoy it so with all our previous times together.”

Yeah right. I faked a gasp. “I’m flattered. No ulterior motives whatsoever?”

“Oh of course there are ulterior motives, but then are we ever truly without them?”

I smirked again. “So, that means that you didn’t just miss my company, so no, I don’t believe you.”

“Hm, but perhaps missing your company was the reason that inspired me to come in the first place, and the rest I was hopeful to attain in addition afterwards?”

I eyed him. Maybe I could get some unreliable information from him? “And what would you be hoping to gain besides my company?”

“Entertainment of course. Though I admit, the fool was more of an annoyance than that. Still, more information was gained for later plans.”

“Any chance you’d give away any information on those plans?”

“Interfering with those of others, research of my own kind, and reuniting with old friends. I’m afraid anything more would come with some sort of price.”

I perked up and smirked wider. Could seduction work possibly? “And what kind of price would that be?”

“For others? A favor of equal importance to the information. For you?” He turned to face me more, smirking back. “The right question and,” he stepped a little closer, “a kiss.”

What right question? Was it a specific question or just not asking an obvious question? It was a price I was willing to pay. Still, I started with a pitiful attempt, making sure to sound teasing as I stepped closer too, so that we were inches from each other, and placed a hand on his chest. He didn’t flinch this time. “Please?”

He laughed. “Oh my little thief, you can do so much better than that, though I commend the effort.”

So, I actually had to try, damn it. I thought for a little bit, mulling over his words. “These old friends, are they Aleksis and Reine? And are you reuniting yourself with them, or with someone else?” Two questions. Would he require two prices?

He grinned. “And there’s that clever head of yours that’s just so fascinating, catching the ambiguity in the wording. In answer to the former, yes but they are not the only ones. The latter can be answered in a similar way I suppose, for I am but one of the people in this. Now for the rest of the price?”

Wait. If he answered both of those, would he answer more questions? I held up a hand before he could lean in more. I had more questions. Could I ask them? “Wait, if I give the rest of the price now, will I be able to ask more questions? And pay another price? Or is that it? Instead, could I ask the questions now and then just have the rest of the prices all in a row?”

He inclined his head, looking thoughtful. “And you would pay all of them? Deals with the devil are a very dangerous thing little thief, the consequences of breaking them even more so.” He sounded teasing, but there was something dark underneath.

I was probably being foolish, but the promise of information was too tempting. I wouldn’t ask too many questions, though. “If it would still be kisses, by all means, I’ll pay it.”

“Then ask your questions.”

Yes! I tried to keep my expression neutral, even as the smile tugged at my lips. “I know all about how you’ve been interfering in my plans, but how have you been interfering in other plans? And what is the purpose of this research in the grand scheme of things?”

“Do you remember my comment of being the devil on your shoulder?” Yes, he just referenced it a little bit ago. “I whisper in the Capitol’s ear about what they should do with all of you, tell them how beneficial something will be to them, or dissuade more attempts to tighten their excuse for a leash because it will not earn them the obedience they think they have. I also keep them from gaining more knowledge of our friends despite their efforts to obtain it.” He gave me a pointed look again. “As for the research, in the grand scheme of things as you say, it lets me know more about the players in the game, where to push and where to back off from. As well as what they have already learned in regards to myself.”

I nodded. That was just so much to unpack. How much of this shit had been his idea, but also how much had he stopped them from doing worse? And how much could I really believe? Not something to think about while I was still in his presence. I could accidentally ask another question. I leaned in closer to him. “So, that’s four, I believe. I’m ready to start paying the price.” My smirk came back in full force.

He smirked back and leaned closer, but he didn’t kiss me right away. Instead, he backed me into the wall and slowly, methodically found all the pins in my hair and took them out, as he leaned closer and closer to me, until my hair fell free, and he laughed in my ear. “That’s more like you, my little thief.”

Before I could say anything snarky back, he smashed his lips to mine, and I automatically melted. Damn dreams. One hand ran through my hair, while his other hand brushed along my back. Hell, if I had to just kiss him to get information that actually sounded truthful, I wouldn’t mind it.

It was as intense as all of the others, so when he broke away, my legs almost gave out from under me as I gasped for breath.

Once I caught my breath, I glanced up at him. “I highly doubt that’s considered four.”

“Of course not, but it would be such a shame to waste them all at once don’t you think?” Damn it, I agreed. The jerk. “And I’d hate for the Capitol to find either of us left unaware because of my actions here in the hallway.”

I laughed. “Do you charge late fees? I’d hate to have negative consequences due to no fault of my own.”

“Not as long as I know the debt will be paid by the end of our relationship.” He winked.

I smirked back. Whenever the hell that would be. “Oh don’t worry.” I leaned closer again, just inches from his face. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving any debts unpaid before I leave.”

He laughed. “I’m counting on it and looking forward to it.”

As good a time as any to make my exit. I bowed and headed off, before he could see my face growing hot. Shit, he was charming.

#writeblr hunger games #writeblr #yes I changed Triel's mom's first name #I thought Maria was better

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genuflectx · 5 years

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Mountain Spirit/Reader

Length: 5,674 words

Main Kinks: Virginity, size difference, corruption, creampie,

Other Warnings: stalking, jealousy, implications of domestic violence (human to human, not the monster), bones, death, murder, pregnancy, eating people, regurgitation,

(all images in aesthetic board are labeled for reuse with modification or are mine)

1/24/2020: REPOST

You’d just moved with your boyfriend into the mountain home you’d dreamed of as a little girl. All your life you’d lived below the misty slopes. Now, you were where you belonged, high above the valleys. Here the air was thick, the trees were green year round, and the homes were hidden. It was like a constant vacation.

You could barely remember the last time you’d been this deep into the mountains. Despite the unease in the new home around you, there was calm in your heart as you gazed out the glass doors. Trees as far as the eye could see. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. The commute would be long, but it was worth it.

“[Y/N],” called your partner from the living room.

You tore your eyes from the mountains. “Yeah?”

“You gonna get cookin’ anytime soon?”

You sighed. “Yeah.”

You let your mind crawl over the past week’s events. Things were generally settled. Boxes were nearly all unpacked, save for a few strays. Furniture was in place. You began to ease into the new routine, just as you had with the last two moves, but it was still a tedious process.

Your partner startled you from your thoughts with his hands around your waist, just as you were peeling the tin lid from a can of green beans. As you jolted your finger slipped, nicking against the sharp metal. Your boyfriend stepped back in surprised.

“Shit!” you hissed, holding the hand close. A drop of blood had got into the can, effectively spoiling the beans.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “A major klutz as always,”

You glared at him.

Dinner ended up with a side of corn instead, but not before some loud griping from your partner. The night washed across the mountain tops soon enough, and the two of you settled into slumber. When morning came around you strapped on a backpack and some good walking shoes, then headed out the door. You liked to walk.

“What are you hiding?” you whispered lovingly to the woods. “Sun-bleached elk skulls? Maybe a bear?…Well. Hopefully not a bear,” you added.

If you glanced back, you could see the top of your cute little mountain cabin poking out of the tree line. You could go back home. If you went a little further though, you’d be able to peer off the side of a cliff and look down upon the river. You ached to see the river, so you continued on.

At the cliff edge, you could faintly hear the sound of the water swimming serpentine around the ancient cut banks. The ledge had a horrible drop. You carefully sat down, hand against tree bark, so as not to slip and fall to your death. Despite fear of heights, you adored the view. You sighed and rubbed a bruise on your arm. Couldn’t you simply sit here forever? Couldn’t you just be lulled into a mid-day nap by the distant river, and then never wake?

Some branches far behind you shuttered and shook, and you turned with hopes to see a squirrel performing parkour. A gentle breeze shifted the canopy, but there was no squirrel. The branches had gone still again. You searched a while longer, simply enjoying the shades of yellow-green produced from sun spots against chlorophyll.

Your eyes moved down, attention drawn by a disturbance of bushes below. Perhaps the squirrel had transferred to the forest floor? Standing, you crept nearer. The little round leaves gave way to the head of a bear, looking right at you with twitching nose.

You were frozen in place with stance wide. You must have jinxed it earlier.

It stalked forward from the bramble before standing upright with a gentle, curious growl from between its massive bear teeth. Then, the animal plopped heavily back to fours and started to stumble away at an angle, before crying out and turning tail. It disappeared once more into the mountain, human forgotten.

For a while you remained still, as if it would return any moment. Sweat rolled down your back. You glanced around, examining the area nervously, before re-situating your backpack and hurrying home. You were horrified.

Once home, your bag was discarded on a chair and you fitfully paced as your boyfriend switched channels on the television.

“What is it?” he drawled carelessly.

You dropped onto the couch beside him. “I saw a bear,”

His brows lifted and he looked incredulously at you. “What? This close to the cabin?”

“W-well, we live in the mountains so yeah, but like-”

“Maybe moving here was a mistake,”

You were quiet. He didn’t sound concerned about you in the slightest. Besides that, his words stung deeply as it had been your idea to move up here. In fact, it was a dream come true for you. This was the one decision of yours he had, after quite the fight, accepted.

He stood up. “You know what? You’re just not going to be going out there again. You’ll only lead the bears straight back here,”

Your expression twisted. Before you could protest he had taken your backpack full of hiking gear and dropped it unceremoniously into the garbage.

“Problem solved. No more bears,” he smiled sarcastically and sat back down on the couch.

You gawked at him. It wasn’t the first time he threw something of yours away without permission, but he’d never done it in front of you.You stood abruptly and marched to the bedroom.

He called after you. “And don’t go crying or some shit, you know I hate that! Grow some fucking balls,”

You laid on the bed and cried silently anyway. Unpleasant, recent memories drifted to mind and refused to leave until the two of you went to bed later that night. Luckily, he had not noticed you crying.

The work week felt slow like maple syrup. You trudged through it, sticky as fly paper, itchy as poison ivy, icy as the river but without the calming rush. Massage therapy was rewarding. But work was work. And without the pleasure of standing among giants of bark and vines, it felt like there was nothing to rejuvenate your spirit. You wouldn’t dare disobey your partner.

Tomorrow was Saturday, thank God. You parked the car in the driveway beside your boyfriend’s and took a breath.Time to relax. Eventually you removed yourself from the car, taking extra care not to bump the fresh bruises on your leg against anything, and walked the steps up to the door. First thing you noticed was it was partially ajar and unlocked.

“H-hello?” you called quietly, pepper spray now in hand. You searched the house and no one was home. Besides the opened door and your missing partner nothing was amiss.

The evening went. No sign of him. Darkness enveloped the cabin. Still nothing. You were up extra late, awaiting a knock on the door in hopes he’d come back. The waiting made you anxious. Midnight bonged on the small grandfather clock, so you went around to triple check that all the doors and windows were locked and fastened.

The silhouette of the evergreens stuck up like knives in front of the glowing, full moon. You stared out at them, mind thick with apprehension. When some branches moved you thought nothing of it, until they sank low and disappeared into the blackness below the treeline. You eyed the evergreens, convinced you were seeing things in your uneasy state.

Needing to desperately calm your roaring head, you stepped out onto the porch and down the stairs. You stood and stared at the stars. Something rustled and you hoped a cute little raccoon would wander into the light. Instead, someone spoke.

“Hello,” he whispered softly.

You jumped and stepped back onto the stairs. “Who’s there!” you shouted. “I have pepper spray! And my boyfriend is JUST upstairs, so you’d better.. you’d better just tell me who you are!”

He laughed just as softly as he had whispered, but there felt something sinister in it. “Your mate is dead,” he explained.

Your mouth floundered open. After hesitation, you stepped further up the stairs, but refused to turn your back on the unseen man. “Wh-what? How do you know,” your voice shook.

“Because I ate him for you,”

Your eyes tore into the darkness. Then, in one swift movement, you scrambled up the last few stairs, ran across the porch, and slammed shut the door, locking it. You heard something big cause the wood boards of the porch to squeal. The voice spoke to you again, drawing your attention.

“I’ve watched you some while. I scared the bear away, who was quite hungry. And then I ate your mate, who marked your flesh,”

You put your back to the door, brows furrowed. “The bear?” you asked yourself. And how did he know about the bruises? He must be a stalker.

The boards outside creaked again, moving towards the window. You chanced a glance at the glass and screamed, leaping back and face red. At first you thought a tree had somehow fallen, or that maybe the man held a branch. But something was.. wrong.

The ‘faceplate’ of the tree was huge- it filled the whole window. In the low light of the outside bulb, his face was cast in a dim, golden hue. Four blue flowers bloomed on the surface where eyes could be. The jaw line was sharp. There seemed to be a mouth, and when he talked, the bottom jaw moved and a split that went half way up the face opened, cutting his face three ways. Inside a myriad of hooked thorns glimmered in the light. Maybe this was a mask? A huge, inhuman mask. But why?

“I have another gift for you,” he said cheerfully.

You didn’t know what to say.

He lifted his head, coughing. Something pushed up his throat and he spat up a few chunks onto your porch. You leaned to look. Human bones.

“Oh my God,” you whispered. That was not a mask, and those bones were not props. No play was being had here.

“Will you come out?”

“No!”

He watched a little longer before grunting in affirmation. “Then visit me some time. I will be waiting,”

The monster’s head was gone from the window, leaving you to watch his strange tangled body gingerly step down over the rail, as if it were a single stair.

“Wait!” you called loudly.

“Yes?”

“Where.. where would I visit? I mean.. not that I would,”

He smiled and your heart thumped. “Where you visited me last time,”

Your brows furrowed. Before he could move to leave again you quickly added. “And take the bones,”

With some despair, he returned the gift to his mouth, carefully swallowing them just in case you changed your mind later on.

“Goodnight,” he said quietly, and left.

It was the following weekend before you seriously considered going out into the woods again. Even if you had wanted to earlier, you wouldn’t have. You had had to call the police to report your missing boyfriend, despite knowing that his remains sat in the belly of a spiteful tree. Thus, the force has been all over your property. They’d searched the woods thoroughly, then searched twice more. At the moment the two theories were that he either ran off with another woman without leaving evidence, or that he had been killed by a man at work he had frequent altercations with.

No matter what the police thought, nor what you yourself already knew, you hadn’t cried once. There was a rock in your belly, but no grief. It was more the anxiousness of the new than the agony of the lost that had you feeling such a way. But still, no tears. Not one. That was what disturbed you the most.

You wandered down the trail, new backpack on your shoulders. Memory flashed the image of the bear, and how it had come and gone just as quickly. You remembered that monster had credited himself for your survival that day. Was he out here? Was he where you assume he’d be, waiting? If the apparition if your ex appeared, would he scare it away just as quickly?

The cliff edge came near, and you heard the gentle garble of the river far, far below. You settled down a distance from the edge to have a little picnic and wait.

Fifteen minutes had gone by and nothing of interest happened. Your sandwich was eaten, and you were now munching away on a light salad. The distant tree trunks adjusted unnaturally.

“Hello?” you asked.

From nowhere it seemed his face appeared, peeking around thick trunks and twisting branches in the thicket.

You stood up, on edge but not backing down. “It’s you,” you whispered, eyes wide. “So it was real?”

As he navigated through the bushes, thorns, and branches on all fours, he made little to no sound. In the light you could clearly see his four curling 'antlers,’ and the leaves they sported. It was extremely convincing camouflage.

“I thought you did not want to visit me?” he asked, keeping a comfortable distance.

Your eyes refused to move from his face. “Well.. I’m here now,”

The creature smiled and sat. He looked rather like a dog, or perhaps an antelope, when he sat. Your eyes flickered down across his thickly wound legs for a second then back up. You were blushing and hated it.

“Would you like to come with me?” he asked. “I haven’t had a sacrifice in hundreds of years. You could say that I am… lonely,” he sighed.

You took a step back. “Sacrifice? Hell no! You’re not gonna eat me,”

His head lowered a bit but remained still, like a cat aiming to pounce. “I don’t eat my offerings,” he sounded offended. “Once, I was given much. So much. Burnt cow, deer jerky. Little children and pretty virgins,”

God, this was getting worse by the second. “Children and virgins? Oookay this was a mistake, I’m just gonna, take my backpack now and uhh,” you lifted the pack to your shoulders and started to inch towards the trail back home.

“Yes, see, here is one of my sweet children now,” he said as a bright red bird landed on one of his antlers.

You stopped and glanced between the bird and his face. He was lost in the bird’s twittering, before looking back down at you cheerfully. How did he see through the petals in his eye sockets?

“I’ve made them into pretty birds for all eternity. A wonderful gift, don’t you think?”

You stopped trying to move away, but still occasionally gave the trail a sneaky glance. “What did you turn the virgins into?”

He laughed, as if you had just said the most adorable thing. “Nothing. I deflower them my dear,”

You didn’t know what to say. But it made you nervous. You were a virgin, and by the way he was watching you, he knew it too. You hadn’t ever had sex with your boyfriend, despite his goading. Well, he was dead now.

“Will you come with me? Pretty virgin?” he asked again, standing silently on fours and taking a few steps in your direction.

“No!” you waved your hands and backed up. “Absolutely not,”

He stopped, thinking. Then his big faceplate lowered to your level and one of his 'hooves’ unraveled into several individual vines. He reached into an eye socket and your face twisted as he plucked out a blue flower.

“I will convince you,” he said, holding the flower out to you.

You hesitated, but something in the gesture made your tense body relax a smidge. You took the flower. It was half the size of your head, which made it a rather sizable thing. The scent was sweet, like pure honey. You couldn’t help the involuntary smile, but wiped it off your face as soon as you noticed it.

He was pleased. Now one of his sockets was deep and dark. Open. You could see a faint red glow inside like a pupil.

“…Thank you,” you complimented. After a shared silence you asked. “How will you convince me? I mean.. you ate my fucking boyfriend. Not a p-perfect start,”

He chuckled, lifting his head back up. “You will see,”

So you did. Every evening after work there was a different gift at the foot of the front door. He had a strange sense for gift giving, but the thought warmed your mortal heart. Over the course of a week he had given you: a smooth bark-less tree branch, the rusted hood of a yellow car, a busted computer monitor, another one of his flowers, a pile of fresh fish from the river, and an uprooted blackberry bush. Today, as you walked to the door, he called to you.

“[Y/N],” he said muffled.

You turned around and found yourself smiling before you could think. “O-oh! Hi there,”

He stopped at the stairs and you noticed a lump in his mouth. Hurriedly but with great care, he dropped it onto the porch. The lump was a dead buck; fresh, with quite the hunk taken from its belly.

You covered your mouth and looked away, and he became alarmed and got the sense this was not the correct gift. Without you having to even say anything, he dejectedly picked it back up and set it down at the treeline before returning. He’d eat it later.

“I’m sorry, I will find you a better gift,” he said.

You rose your hand, stomach no longer queasy. “No no, that’s okay, you’ve.. given me enough already,” you smiled softly.

“Mmm.” he hummed, watching. “Have I convinced you?”

You sighed and sat down on the top step. You were taking too long to speak, so he became nervous. Finally you said “I bet you do this for all the girls huh,”

He sat, head at eye level. “No, just you,”

That made your cheeks flush. You stared down at the wood. “I can’t just give someone my virginity,”

He brought his head a bit closer. “I will protect you,” he said, red eyes glowing in the low light of sunset.

You smiled gently and searched his face before reaching out and hesitantly touching a lower antler. Just a comforting touch. Your hand couldn’t even envelope the whole width, and a more lewd part of you asked 'is what’s below just as thick?’ You removed your hand quickly. Why would you think that?

“I will let nobody else touch you,” he went on. “because if they do, I will eat them,” and for a moment the thorns in his mouth flashed, as if angry at even the thought. “You will be mine,”

You bit your lip and squeezed your thighs together harder. “Stop that,” you giggled awkwardly.

His head tilted forward and just barely brushed his forehead against yours, bracketing you with summer leaves. His touch was so feather light. Your lips parted and you giggled more genuinely, which made him laugh in response.

“What is so funny?”

You were smiling like an idiot, face still red. “I don’t know,” you shrugged. “You’re.. weird,”

He pulled back and had the urge to scoop you up into his branches to carry you away, but didn’t. The mountain spirit had no heart, but his body thrummed with affection despite it. He wanted you badly. But he wanted you to want it, and to say it. He wanted to corrupt the innocence in your soul, make you give into something more primal. Of course the longer you waited, the better it would feel in the end.

He leaned back again and said “Would you care to see it? Perhaps you would like it if you saw it,”

You stared, wide eyed. “See what?”

He laughed darkly. “You might guess,”

“O-oh,” you swallowed down hot saliva thickly. It wasn’t like you were agreeing to sex, and after all, you had been curious. Did it look human? You gave a single, stiff nod.

He was pleased. The spirit scooted back a bit and spread his tapered legs, giving your eyes easier access from where you sat. You tried not to appear too curious, but you were. Between his legs were vine like branches, splayed out from around a dark slit. The slit itself looked big enough for you to stick both fists into, and in any case, a slit was certainly not a phallus.

You lifted a brow. “Oh,”

He hummed. The vines moved slowly. They began to wrap around one another, forming a singular shape instead of the haphazard mess that they had been. Eventually the vines were a single tangle. One big, lumpy shape. Very dry. Very natural. Very… un-fuckable looking. It made you about as wet as looking at a tree branch would.

You lifted the other brow. “Oh!”

He smiled and watched you, waiting for you to say something more. When you just stared, he spoke. “So then, you like it?”

Your eyes flickered up then back down. Well, it wasn’t that you didn’t LIKE it. It just looked too big and too painful.

“It’s… different,” you replied quietly, still rather red.

The monster continued watching you, his pupils ever unblinking. “Would you like to touch?”

You swallowed again, taken aback. This thing really wanted to get you on his dick. Your dry lips opened a bit to say something but you closed it again. You looked around for something else to occupy your thoughts with, needing desperately to think about anything but sex.

“You don’t have to,” he went on, more gentle.

That brought your gaze back up to his face. A bubbly feeling fizzled in your belly and a tingle radiated down the back of your head and neck, perplexing you. Eventually you smiled shyly and gestured for him to bring his head closer.

Curious, he complied, his expression hopeful.

“I think I’m going to go to bed,” you whispered, leaning where you sat to press a kiss between his upper eyes.

He sighed and whimpered, but didn’t move to stop you when you stood. The poor beast had gotten himself worked up, and being treated so sweetly made it worse. He watched you reluctantly move to the door, ever so slightly swinging your hips. He laid his chin against the porch.

Something had nagged at you after you retired. You hadn’t been able to sleep, and lewd ideas swam through your fogged brain. It made you feel wrong, but you were lonely. So three hours later you went back out in your nightgown. You hadn’t expected him to still be there, resting.

He stirred when he sensed your presence padding softly towards his head. “It’s still night time,” he said quietly, confused.

You sat on the porch and picked at the wood under your bottom. “Couldn’t sleep,”

The two of you sat in silence for a few seconds, letting the crickets talk for you. Eventually you peered up at his faceplate nervously to find him looking at your bare legs.

“Did you change you mind?” he asked, not moving his gaze.

Your chest burned, like something dying to come out. “Maybe.” before he could add more you went on “You know you wouldn’t even fit. If we.. ya know,”

“I am a spirit of variability. Do you think I simply ripped past virgins in two? I will change to your needs, and relinquish control into your hands,”

You bit your lip and fidgeted. That was much more detail than you’d expected to hear, and you were embarrassed by the throbbing between your legs.

He seemed to sense your mood change and read your expression. Having been with many an inexperienced human afraid for their bodily health, he was accustomed to that expression. Unsure, but considering.

“Would you like to touch it, first?” he probed, insinuating there was a 'second.’

You pouted a little, then nodded quickly. Shit, shit shit, what were you agreeing to?

Soon he was sprawled again, his head held up. You traveled down the stairs to position between his legs, his intimidating shaft shifting to be slightly thinner. With a nod of encouragement, you placed a hand flat against the bottom and simply felt the texture. Smooth. Your hand still couldn’t fit around it, but you gave it a firm squeeze and moved your grasp upwards. This gained a little hum from the monster, who was staying deathly still. He did not want to frighten you.

“Do you like it now that you’ve touched it?” he asked.

You were still unsure and shrugged, placing your other hand around it and giving another few strokes. It made you feel insanely guilty, but the hitch in his breathing certainly did not. His cock twitched in your hands, straining heavily.

Before he knew it you gave the underside a lick and he was startled, looking down at you. “Ahh, you do not have to do that,”

You stopped and chewed the inside of your lip a little. By now your panties were damp and your nipples poked against the silk of your nightgown, giving your body away.

“I know,” you mumbled. “I think… I want to try,”

His cock twitched again and his eyes seemed to take on a more excited glow. “You’re certain?”

You nodded. He gave you another second to change your mind before he laid back, his shoulders and up being cast in gentle shadow from his sheer size. The rest of him remained bathed in the yellow porch light, including his at attention dick.

He helped you climb up to his stomach. Soon you were nice and cozy on top of him. You slowly rubbed his shaft and licked at the tip, unable to even consider sucking him off with how wide he was. With all the grace of someone who has never done this before, you rubbed yourself unevenly under your underwear. Already pretty wet, you decided it was time. How were you going to get that in, though?

“Could you, um, make it any smaller?” you peeped.

He sat back on his elbows so he could lift his head. A few seconds later and his cock had lost a few vines, making it thin enough to fit but still be snug.

“Do you really want to do this?” he rasped, watching you.

“Y-yeah,”

He sighed and tilted his head back slightly, seemingly pleased with this response. “Go on, then,”

So you sat back close to his needy member and reached between your legs. Panties came off and his cock slipped between your thighs as you started the tedious process of alignment. The smooth top side rubbed against your lips and you gasped, overly sensitive.

Eventually the tip was pressed against your virgin entrance and you glanced up at him nervously. He was watching, his mouth slightly ajar. He was already pretty close. It had been a very, very, very long time indeed, yet he didn’t move. He had the patience of a saint.

It would take you a while to be comfortably seated, so you took your time. You were unused and he was still big, after all. Your already stinging pussy shifted back and down about an inch, and you stopped, eyes closed tight.

“Does it hurt?” he asked quietly.

You breathed heavily. “A little,”

It had to have been fifteen minutes before you were barely passed the tip, and by then he was shaking. The tremors would come then go, but when he did shake there was gentle movement inside you that made you squeak. You finally pressed down further, taking in another two inches that stretched and burned despite your lubrication.

“Feel.. good?” you panted, tired from holding yourself up.

He sighed and tilted his head forward in affirmation. You couldn’t see any red in his eye sockets now, as if he had closed his eyes. “Can you move any, pretty virgin?”

You slowly pulled what you got in out, which resulted in him hissing and your stretched walls aching. Then you carefully reinserted and pushed down to the spot before, even taking in another few inches. It still stung, but not as much as it had before.

The beast shook again. You started to ride him at a pace that didn’t hurt too terribly, only taking in what you could without pain. As you moved up and seated back down you were able to adjust and introduce more and more, until your pussy was stuffed to the brim. Even when full, there was still a decent amount of length that didn’t slip inside, but it apparently didn’t bother him as he released a low murmur of appreciation.

With tired muscles you rode the ancient monster slowly. The little flower like appendages that poked out between vines stuck to the sides of his dick from being coated with a mix of your fluids and his. The pressure of it all inside your warm body was Heaven for the spirit, and a new experience for you.

Eventually the pain let up, though some burning remained from the stretch. You clasped a hand to your mouth as you sunk down again, breathing a pleased gasp between your fingers.

He opened his eyes, shivering. One of the loose vines from around his cock stiffly pressed between your folds, the tip of it touching your belly. As you moved you ground against the smooth, soft surface, stimulating your clitoris and making your movements jerky.

“If you don’t slow down more,” he warned, “I’ll come soon,”

You had to remove the hand from your mouth to support your body again. You continued despite his comment, taking pleasure from pressing hard against the vine to reach your own climax.

The determination pleased the towering monster. His cock twitched against your walls, as if the entwined parts were dying to unravel. And when he heard your shy whine as you came against him, it nearly did.

He shut his eyes once more and hissed, a wet explosion of a thin sticky substance began to ooze from between tightly coiled vines. It pooled more so at the bottom, dripping down his shaft and onto his body and thighs.

You had stopped moving, remaining very still and feeling terribly wrong to have not moved away at the first sign of his orgasm. Instead the substance was leaked into you, against throbbing, used walls. He was still coming; more goo oozed out through the twisted appendages, both inside of you and down his legs. After about a minute it slowed and stopped. God, that was a lot of cum. The better side of you felt like nothing short of a sinner. Luckily your pussy and heart didn’t care.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sighing.

You looked up at him through tired, lidded eyes, and couldn’t retain the breathless laugh that came out. It was like relief. Like you’d let something go by doing this.

He smiled, but seemed surprised. “Why are you laughing?”

With his cock still occasionally twitching inside you, you shrugged. “You’re just.. you’re sweet,”

EPILOGUE

There were rumors about those mountains; rumors about campers who placed down their tents that never came back down. Campfires set ablaze that were extinguished without a guiding human hand. There was something unknown out there, watching anyone who stepped foot among the evergreens and mist.

Some stories claimed it was a pregnant woman who ate lonely men, others claimed it was a violent monster that protected the wildlife. Both were somewhat true in certain aspects, but the public could only guess what was really occurring in those mountains.

You were no longer human. It was something of a mystery what you’d become. Something spectral, something animal, something still partially human but not quite right. You’d left that empty cabin behind and took to the land, the creature who devoured your heart and body ever looming by.

People who saw you only ever saw you when they were alone in the forest, accompanied by a light fog. If they rose a hand against you with malicious intent, they lost their lives to the spirit that protected you. Eaten in the same manner your past partner was. If they simply talked, no harm came to a hair on their heads. So anyone lost to the mountains was of no consequence to the world, no matter how fretful it became over their disappearance. Adulterous husbands who assumed they could take advantage of a lost girl. Eaten. Those with knives who thought it fun to harass a stranger. Eaten. No one could touch you.

And sometimes you were a deer. Of all the virgins he had taken, he had taken none to live immortally by his side, and certainly none who had the option to prance. So time spent as a doe was time you cherished. It was peaceful. It made you feel like a part of the forest he so loved and protected. Hunters could not harm you, and those who still tried encountered violent setbacks. Unnaturally brave bucks, hundred year old trees collapsing inches from their boots, hungry bears.

Your life was laid out before you now, and it was one of immortal moss and bark. He still loved virgins, but there was no one around who interested him more than you did. In all the hundreds of years taking sacrifices, you were his favorite. The one he wanted to stay. No one in the whole world knew besides you two wandering the thousand year old slopes.

So rumors spread about those mountains, that something was snatching up human life like it meant nothing. In reality, the mountains had simply won the heart of one specific human. It was your decision to leave. You were happy.

#terato #exophilia #monster romance #patreon #writing

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dawnjeman · 6 years

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New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram

Hello, my wonderful friends! How are you in 2019? Did anything happen? Did a switch turn on, bringing more Light into your heart during this first week of this New Year? It’s been terribly cold, gloomy and dark out there. The weather is miserable and it’s easy to feel the winter blues insistently knocking on my door, but I am not opening it… instead, I decided to take a small break during the Holidays to do what I love the most in life; which is spending time with my family and work whenever I feel inspired. I took a small break and I am finally feeling like myself again… nothing makes you feel more centered than being able to slow down and hear your own thoughts, and that was exactly what I did.

During this New Year, I certainly hope to continue to listen to what’s inside of my heart and that goes to what I want to share with you here on Home Bunch. I have to be completely honest with you guys. I am tired of cold homes, everything looks the same these days. Although I will always bring the latest trends to my readers, one of my main goals this year is to share homes that feel more like real homes, homes that have character and feel loved, and that starts with this year’s first “Beautiful Homes of Instagram”. Please, get to know Erin from The Heart and Haven. She’s someone that will inspire you to transform your current home into your “home-sweet-home”!

Hi, my name is Erin @theheartandhaven and I’m a home renovator, home décor enthusiast and mother. I have always enjoyed staring at all the pretty things, but I never realized how much joy I would find in creating them until my husband and I bought a 1950s fixer upper about five years ago.

My husband and I are high school sweethearts from the Jersey Shore. We dated long-distance throughout college and upon graduation, we decided to move across the country to start our life together in Los Angeles. I worked in television before deciding to become a stay at home mom when I had my first son. I now have two boys, ages 7 and 4.

After getting married, we purchased a newly-built, builder-grade condo in Los Angeles and while the finishes were not exactly my taste, I was excited to just have a place to call our own and honestly never thought about changing anything. Two years after having my son and really craving some private outdoor space to have him run around, we searched our neighborhood to find a house. We found a corner house only a few blocks away on a beautiful, wide tree-lined street. It was custom built in 1950, and nothing had been updated since then. The house was head- to-toe covered in orange wood (floors, ceilings, walls, you name it!). The bathrooms had parquet linoleum, the staircase had scrolling wrought iron and each room had ceiling fixtures hanging so low that it made the 8 ft. ceilings feel much smaller. Having no reno experience under my belt, I still felt that this 2400 sq. ft. house had potential. Thus began our renovation journey, and we lived through all of it! I don’t think I knew what my style was when we started renovating our home and decisions often had to be made quickly. There are some things I would change, but I have learned so much throughout this process. And five years later, I think I have found my casually modern, beachy-boho style through decorating it , and it has truly become a passion of mine.

New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram

Our kitchen was the last major renovation. After living in what felt like a wooden cave, I wanted our new kitchen to be light and bright. We took down the wall that separated the kitchen from our playroom to open it up. I had always wanted an island but, due to building codes, the island would have been very small. So, I adjusted my vision and was able to have the counter space and seating area by making it into a peninsula instead.

Peninsula measures 6 ft x 4.5 ft. and counters are Salt White Marble.

Paint Color: Valspar Mountain Mist.

Kettle: Crate & Barrel.

“Let’s Stay Home” sign: Here.

Runner & Flooring

This pink kitchen runner is one of the cheeriest pieces of home décor I own. I paired it with the wallpaper to make our kitchen more playful.

Runner: Here.

Flooring: Wickham Hardwood, Maple (color Walnut) – similar here, here & here.

Cabinet Paint Color

Kitchen cabinets are Maple, painted Benjamin Moore White.

Canisters: West Elm.

Backsplash is Daltile Subway Tile, 3×6 in Arctic White – similar here.

Appliances: Thermador Range, GE Café Series Refrigerator.

Marble Clock: Sur la Table.

Cabinet Cup Pulls: Hickory Hardware.

Sink & Faucet

While it might not be the most picturesque faucet, I love how we can turn the faucet on and off without dripping on our marble counters. Definitely a functional win!

Kitchen Faucet: Faucet, Moen Motionsense Chrome.

Kitchen Sink: 33” Farmhouse Fireclay Sink.

Kitchen Towel: Kate Spade.

Lighting & Barstools

When choosing the pendants over our peninsula, I didn’t want to compete with the chandelier in the nook. These cone pendants with their antique brass interior echoed the glam of the chandelier without overwhelming the space.

Barstools: Serena & Lily.

Lighting: Visual Comfort – 15 Inch Wide.

Utensil Holder: West Elm.

Breakfast Nook

I loved the idea of a breakfast nook and wanted to make it feel special, so I went with wallpaper and a statement chandelier. I think the wallpaper adds so much personality to this otherwise all white kitchen. I then paired it with a more rustic feeling table and chairs to contrast the crisp, geometric design.

Table is RH – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Chairs are RH – similar here & here.

Pillows: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Chandelier & Wallpaper

Wallpaper is from Serena & Lily in Denim.

Chandelier is Visual Comfort.

Playroom

After taking down the wall between the kitchen and the playroom, this is now our view. Since this is the room my sons hang out in the most, it had to be functional for them but also flow with our kitchen.

Sofa is from HD Buttercup

Window Treatment throughout home are plantation shutters by American Vision Windows

Paint Color

The barstools had to become part of the design for the playroom because of the open concept, so going slightly more coastal in this room with the oversized beach print and using blue accents in the room helped tie things together.

Paint color is Valspar Mountain Mist.

Inspired by this Look:

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Sofa

Some might think a white sofa and children do not go together. And they would be right! However, I love the crisp look of a white sofa so I chose a slipcover that can be removed and washed.

Sofa is from HD Buttercup.

Ottomans: Etsy.

Artwork: Minted.

Rug: Pottery Barn.

Mudcloth Pillow is by Bryar Wolf – similar here.

Playroom Media Center

Not fancy or even perfectly styled, but that is mom life! This media center holds all the extra toys and books and games.

TV: Samsung.

Gray bins are from IKEA – similar here.

Media Center: Pottery Barn.

Knobs: Restoration Hardware Dillon Knobs.

African Wall Baskets: Etsy.

Desk

Both the desk and window-seat are IKEA hacks. I upgraded the desk by swapping out the hardware and I made the IKEA Kallax bookshelf-turned-window seat feel more custom by adding a bench cushion.

Rattan Mirror: Pottery Barn.

Vintage rug found on Etsy – similar here.

Window

Pillows and bench cushion by Tonic Living – Similar Bench: here (on sale!) & here.

Bins found at Target.

Living Room

Our sectional is actually a recliner and the chaise lifts up for hidden storage. I love how functional it is for our family.

While there is still updating to do to this room, we recently removed the metal stair railings and replaced it with a wooden banister. Painting and staining the banister was a beast! But it was well worth it.

Stair posts are Benjamin Moore Super White and stain was a custom mix.

Artwork on wall by @sarahcnightingale.

Sofa: West Elm.

Paint Color

Wall paint color is Benjamin Moore London Fog.

Rug is discontinued – similar here.

Seagrass lidded basket: here – similar.

Fireplace

Choosing a split-faced stone for the fireplace is still one of my favorite design decisions.

Stone: Wayfair.

Chair: West Elm.

Moroccan Leather Pouf: here.

Fireplace Sconces: Pottery Barn.

Shelves

Believe it or not, farmhouse style was my first love.

Shelves are IKEA and I spray painted the brackets Rustoleum Hammered Copper.

Grid Photo Frame: McGee.

Walnut Frame: McGee.

Brass Bells: McGee.

Rustic Vase: Here.

Artwork on top by @sarahcnightingale.

Others items mix of flea market and HomeGoods finds (including bottom baskets) – similar baskets: here.

Coffee Table

Coffee Table: here.

Coffee Table Decor: Wooden Bowl, similar moss, similar wooden beads & similar vintage bells.

Sofa Pillows: here, here, here & here.

Dining Room

I love earthy elements and this rustic dining table is the perfect combination of form and function. With all of its raw imperfections, the kids can be as rough as they want with it and I don’t mind.

Dining Table & Bench: West Elm.

Rug is vintage – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Wooden Candle holders are locally sourced.

Planter in corner is from HomeGoods – similar here & here.

Good Vibes

There is a casualness about my design style which is probably why I gravitate towards word art. And I love the boldness of this black and white piece.

Artwork by JaxnBlvd.

Stool: Target.

Dining Room Chairs

The white wishbone chairs help to bring a lightness to this space which doesn’t get a lot of natural light and the chairs’ low profile makes this small dining space feel bigger. Paint Color is Benjamin Moore London Fog.

Chairs are by InMod – similar here, here & here.

Lighting: West Elm – similar here.

Mirror: here.

Floor basket: Pier 1.

Kids Corner

This was a fun IKEA hack that I did for my 7 year old’s room. I took the IKEA Kallax shelf unit, chose two different color doors and then spray painted the letters. Wall color is Valspar Ghost Ship.

Pillows by Tonic Living – similar here.

Rug & Seagrass boxes from Homegoods – similar rug & baskets.

Shelf and baskets from IKEA .

Reading Nook

These fern decals make this reading nook a lot of fun for my four-year-old. And while I would have loved a hanging chair, I didn’t think it was practical for my boys so I opted for this caged freestanding chair instead.

Decals by Urban Walls.

Chair: World Market.

Paper Mache Animal Heads: Fox, Rabbit & Deer.

Elephant Side Table: Serena & Lily.

Rug: here – similar.

Prints by Society6.

Guest Bedroom

Adding board and batten was a game changer in this room. It instantly made the guest bedroom feel loftier than its standard 8 ft. ceiling height.

Leather Bed: CB2.

Duvet Cover: here.

Nightstand: West Elm.

Throw: here, here & here.

Rug: here.

Paint Color

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.

Candle Holders: Crate & Barrel.

Pillows: Black & White & Bolster Pillow – similar.

Artwork: here.

Guest Bathroom

This small bathroom was the first major renovation we did when we moved in. There was literally a treasure chest inspired toilet box in here and, much like the rest of the house, tiles and walls were orange-brown. Having no prior design experience, I went with timeless marble and this little bathroom still makes me happy.

Bathroom wall paint is Behr Sterling.

Vanity: Wayfair.

Faucet is Kohler Bancroft.

Mirror: Uttermost.

Hand Towel: McGee.

Wood pot from HomeGoods.

Floor Tile: Wayfair.

Master Bathroom

This is our only bathroom upstairs, so it was important for us to keep a separate tub for our kids. Paint color is Behr Light French Gray.

Paint Cabinet Color: Benjamin Moore Simply White.

Tile is Ceramiche Caesar Porcelain Tile in MORE Manhattan – similar here.

Rug is from HomeGoods – similar here & here.

Vanity: Pottery Barn.

Art Print from Serena & Lily.

Crytal knob by Emtek.

Tub: Wayfair.

Stool: Serena & Lily.

Master Bedroom

I love having a neutral bedroom that I can easily switch up by swapping out pillows and throws.

Bed: Wayfair.

Blue quilt from HomeGoods.

Throw: Etsy – similar here.

Full Length Mirror: here – similar.

Rug: Lulu & Georgia.

Textures

Bench from RJ Imports – similar here.

Duvet Cover: Anthropologie.

Wall Basket: here – similar.

Pillows: Velvet Pillows, Mudcloth Pillows, Lumbar – similar.

Stripe vase from Crate & Barrel.

Faux Stems: Crate & Barrel.

Nightstands from Crate & Barrel discontinued but similar ones here, here, here & here.

Paint Color

Paint color is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.

One of my favorite things about this house is the amount of closet space. Our master has a his and hers closet. The smaller one behind that door is the his, of course.

Ladder is from Crate & Barrel.

DIY

The wall art here was an easy DIY. I put mudcloth scraps in black frames to give this corner a boho chic look.

Chair from HD Buttercup – other beautiful chairs: here, here, here & here.

Side table: here.

Bench: here.

Dresser: Pottery Barn.

Desk

Desk from Restoration Hardware – other beautiful desks: here & here.

Chair is from IKEA – similar here.

Pillow: Serena & Lily.

Hanging planter is from Homegoods – similar here.

Baskets: Serena & Lily.

Rug is from Homegoods – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Many thanks to Erin for sharing all of the details above.

Make sure to follow Erin on Instagram to see more of her beautiful home!

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Posts of the Week:

2019 New Year Home Tour.

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Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

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Family Home Renovation with Casual Interiors.

2018 Norton Children’s Hospital Raffle Home.

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If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

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jancys-blue-bayou · 7 years

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Patrol duty

Day 5 of Jancy Fanfic Week is here, the theme is “Canon compliant: If the Duffers read it, they could include it in season 3.” That inspired me to this, which is my suggestion for a possible opening scene of Stranger Things 3. I’ve already written a lot of canon compliant stuff in terms of missing scenes, but since this one is pretty short and doesn’t actually have that much Jancy action in it, as always feel free to drop any prompts in my inbox and I’ll see if I can get something more out today.

Also on Ao3 and FFNet.

So far, being a cop was nothing like in the movies. Okay, he did realize it was Hawkins and nothing ever happens here. Apart from interdimensional monsters killing people. And he supposes that him being bored at work is better than him fighting Demodogs again. Thankfully no new threats from the Upside Down has arisen since last Halloween. He knows because he and Chief Hopper is always on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. He knows him knowing about it all was may have been the main factor in Hopper taking him on as cadet even though he flunked the written exam the first time and only passed the shooting test because Nancy took him out to the woods to practice it beforehand. As Nancy had said, ”He’ll like having someone else on the Force who knows about it”.

And it was better being bored at work as a cop than being bored working for his dad. Since the latter option entailed both boredom and his father, he’d gladly taking being bored in the passenger seat of a cruiser next to Officer Callahan.

It’s Friday night and they have patrol duty. He’s been on patrol several times, but never on a Friday night. He thinks of what Friday nights used to mean for him. Usually a party somewhere that may or may not eventually be broken up by the police. Now he was on the other side of it. Though thankfully they hadn’t gotten calls about any rowdy party tonight. His worst fear is that they’ll send him out to bust up a party and he’ll be recognized by people he went to school with.

”Well, let’s check out the usual spots,” Callahan suddenly changes subject after droning on about what he had for lunch today for way to long.

”The usual spots?”

”You should know, Rookie, the regular spots popular with the teenagers around here…” Callahan says and waggles his eyebrows.

”Oh…”

”Actually, do you know about any new spots? I’ll swing by Lovers Lake first of course.”

”No… no, that’s pretty much the main one I suppose… but uh, do we have to? I mean, can’t we just let the kids be kids?” He tries, really not thrilled about the prospect of going around busting teen couples in cars. He’s been on the other side of that too.

”Nah, Chief wants us to. Plus it’s kind of fun, see it as a chance to get revenge for all those times in high school you got rejected. When the girls never wanted to go to the lake with you but wanted to go with Johnny Nicholls or-”

His raised eyebrows silences the increasingly agitated Callahan.

”… you were the Johnny Nicholls guy, weren’t you?” Callahan sighs.

”I guess. You actually busted me in sophomore year out here with a girl…”

”Oh. Sorry about that. Well then, now’s your chance to spoil someone else’s fun.”

Callahan comes to a stop and nods to a car parked by the lake.

”What? You mean I have to…?”

”Yeah? Come on, get out and do it.”

”Why do I have to do it? Why can’t you…”

”Hey, I am your superior. Hate to pull rank on you, Rook, but go out there and make some pour guy miserable, that’s an order.”

”Fine,” he sighs and steps out of the cruiser.

He can only pray it’s not anyone he knows. But the car looks vaguely familiar, he thinks as he takes out his flashlight and strides over. He lets out a deep sigh before he steps up to one of the windows by the backseat, banging on it and shining his flashlight through it.

What he sees inside horrifies him. Jonathan Byers, pants halfway down, and under him Nancy Wheeler, shirt off and looking to be in the process of losing her pants aswell when he interrupts them. They both jolt and curse at his knock. Thank God for Byers, who makes sure to shield Nancy’s body with his while she scrambles to get her shirt back on, before he gets his pants back up. A real gentleman, he has to hand it to him.

”Steve?!” Both Nancy and Jonathan shriek when they see that it’s him. He really wishes a black hole would open up beneath him and swallow him down. Instead he gives an awkward wave.

”Steve, what the hell?!” Nancy hisses, rolling down the window slightly and looking both surprised, embarrassed and angry. Jonathan looks to be almost more uncomfortable than he himself.

”Sorry, sorry. But uh, you can’t do that here, it’s indecent exposure and…”

”Seriously?!” Nancy cuts him off. ”You do realize that-”

”Yeah yeah, I know, I know, brick, glass house, I know. This isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday night, but I got to follow orders, Nancy.”

”I can’t believe this.”

”Could you just… go somewhere else. Indoors,” he pleads. ”Can’t he just sneak in through the window like I did, it’s not that hard,” he continues without thinking. Nancy and Jonathan both gets even more redfaced.

”Well we used to but last week my mom-” Nancy begins to explain.

”No no, don’t wanna know,” he cuts her off. ”Just, go somewhere, out of here.”

”Fine,” she huffs.

”See you,” he parts with awkwardly. Nancy can barely look at him. Jonathan gives the most awkward wave he’s ever seen.

”So,” Callahan begins as he gets back in the cruiser. Jonathan has already sped off. ”Didn’t that make you feel good?”

”Kill me,” he mutters and beats his head against the dashboard.

”I can’t believe that just happened,” Nancy says after a long silence in the car.

”Tell me about it,” he mutters. He thought that nothing would ever be more embarrassing than when Nancy’s mother walked in on them last week. Turns out Nancy’s ex busting them topped that.

The mood was definitely ruined plus they ran the risk of missing the curfew Mrs. Wheeler had imposed on them after last week’s incident, despite Nancy’s vigorous protests; so he drives Nancy home.

For a second he thought that it almost looked like a van was following them, but looking in the rearview mirror again it was gone, must’ve made a right onto Dearborn. He pulls up to the curb outside Nancy’s house.

”Well, goodnight. I had a great time… for the most part,” Nancy says and gives him a kiss.

”Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow?”

”Definitely.”

Nancy kisses him one more time before stepping out of the car. He watches her walk up to the door. She turns on the porch and gives him a wave. He waves back and waits until she’s safely inside her house before driving off.

He drives the familiar way home from Maple Street. One more time a feeling like he’s being followed comes over him for a second, but once again no one’s there so he shakes it off. He parks at the end of the driveway next to the Chief’s cruiser and steps inside his house.

They’re all still in front of the tv just like when he left them earlier, but only Hopper is awake, his mom snoring lightly beside him on the loveseat, Will and El slumped against each other in the sofa. The sound is off and the movie seems to be at it’s conclusion when Hopper looks up at him, looks down at his watch, then back up at him.

”Callahan bust ya?” Hopper smirks.

”Harrington,” he sighs deeply.

”Ouch,” Hopper can barely contain his laughter.

”Goodnight,” he leaves with another sigh and heads for his room.

”Night.”

”You good?” Mick turns and asks as they watch the car turn off the road and down the long driveway to the house now familiar to them from a week’s worth of stakeouts.

”Yeah, let’s go,” Kali replies, wiping the blood from her nose.

”When do we execute the plan?” Funshine asks.

”Soon.”

#jancy fanfic week #jancy fic #st fic #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #st drabbles #stranger things drabbles #jancy #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #stranger things

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mezzonox · 7 years

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A Marry Christmas - ZRC

Here is one of the two fics I wrote for @queen-glitter for the @derpcult Secret Santa!! You can find the art piece here and the other fic here!

“I’m a little bummed everyone else couldn’t have made it for Christmas this year,” Ze spoke to Chilled as they wrapped some presents for the other Derps. It was snowing pretty badly, so they would have to wait another week before meeting up. Ze and Chilled used this as an opportunity to clean the house and make preparations for when they did arrive.

The two were going to celebrate Christmas on time though. They had their gifts ready, except for one, Chilled’s final gift he would be giving. A small ring with tiny emeralds and diamonds around it. He thought it would match his eyes.

Chilled was really excited for Christmas, but also extremely nervous. What if it wrong? He didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t help wonder though.

No, he would say yes. They’d been together for what? Two years? He’d say yes… right? He really hoped so. He shouldn’t worry.

“Yea, I am too. But hey! They’ll be here next week,” Chilled replied, grabbing some tape.

“That’s true- Hey can you pass the ribbon?”

They continued to wrap each present, one from Chilled, and one from Ze for Tom, Aphex, Galm, and John. Ze’s present wrapping is was way better, more precise. The ribbon looked neat and lively. Chilled on the other hand, enjoyed bags. He didn’t like wrapping since he knew Ze’s would look better, so he stuck to bags. He did design the bags though, made them look really festive. Nobody knew he liked designing except for Ze, everyone just thought the bags came from various stores. Basically, both of them had a speciality for presents.

Sometimes they switched present wrapping ideas, Chilled would try wrapping and Ze would design bags. They normally only did this for each other’s presents though. That’s why Chilled was able to get his present idea. Wrapping a ring box and putting it in more boxes. It might’ve made Ze become annoyed, but it would be worth it… he hoped.

After presents, they got to cleaning and decorating the house. It would’ve been done earlier, but the two were too lazy. Now they needed to get it done.

They had the Christmas tree set up with tinsel, lights, ornaments, and a star at the top. They had extra tinsel to decorate the house with, along with newly bought lights.

The main room that was decorated was the living room. There were stockings set up, lights were strung around the ceiling, tinsel was hung up, and some snowflakes were hung from the ceiling. It was a lot more decorative than they thought it would’ve been. They didn’t mind though, it was pretty.

“We actually put effort towards decorating this year, I’m impressed. I can’t believe we decorated on Christmas Eve though,” Chilled chuckled as he observed the room. Ze was at his side nodding along.

“Yea, we were lazy. And last year all we did was hang up some printed out christmas pictures and put ornaments on the plant instead of a tree.”

“Didn’t we kill the plant from doing that?”

Ze shrugged. “Probably.”

They both laughed and looked at the time.

“Damn, midnight already? We started decorating at seven, where did time go?” Chilled asked, glancing back to Ze.

“Eh, not sure. Decorating and cleaning take time.”

“Mhm, yea. Anyways, you want to get some sleep then? I’m tired,” Chilled yawned, making Ze chuckle.

“Sure, sleepy head.”

Ze started walking first, with Chilled following behind.

They reached their doorway and Chilled glanced up at the mistletoe he had put up earlier. Before Ze made it inside, Chilled pulled him back and turned him around. Ze gave him a puzzled look before Chilled’s lips met his. He stumbled back slightly before grabbing onto Chilled’s shirt for balance. He quietly kissed back, leaning up on his toes to try and even the height difference. Ze let go of Chilled’s shirt after they pulled away to catch their breaths.

“What was that all about?” Ze asked with a small smile. Chilled just pointed up to the mistletoe above them.

“You put that there earlier, didn’t you?” Chilled gave a grin and nodded.

“You bet I did,” he leaned down and pecked Ze’s cheek before walking into the room, Ze following not long after.

They climbed into the bed and cuddled up to the other, giving Chilled the perfect opportunity to fall asleep. Ze wasn’t as tired though. All he could do at the time was lie there and let his thoughts wonder.

He thought about a variety of things. From the different presents to all the decorating and even the cleaning they did that day. Not to mention he thought about all the time he spent with Chilled in the past two years. It made him smile and turn to face the sleeping man next to him. He brought his hand to Chilled’s hair and started to mess with it. God how he loved that hair.

He laid there, thinking and messing with Chilled’s hair before checking the time.

“One twenty-seven. I need to get some sleep soon, we’ll be opening presents from each other in about seven hours most likely. Closing my eyes may help…” Ze thought it would help, but it didn’t. He couldn’t help but think something big was going to happen that day. It was keeping him up.

“Guess I’m not getting sleep. I’ll be cranky, it’s fine.”

Ze ended up falling asleep at around four in the morning and was woken up at eight forty-three by an excited Chilled. He groggily opened his eyes to see Chilled pacing around the room.

“Mmmm, Chilled, what’re you doing..?”

Chilled turned his head. “Oh, just waiting for you to wake up. But, you’re awake now soooo, I don’t need to wait anymore! We should get up. We need breakfast! We need-”

“Chilly, first of all, it’s not even nine yet. Second of all, you’re starting to ramble like when you get nervous. Is something on your mind?” Ze tilted his head, looking up.

“Of course not! I’m just excited! Come on, get up. I’ll go make food!”

Ze sighed and slowly began getting up. Four hours of sleep will need to last him.

When he walked into the kitchen, Chilled was making pancakes. He seemed distracted. Ze decided to walk over and hug him from behind.

“What’s on your mind, Chilly?”

Chilled turned his head and lightly smiled. “I’m just thinking about if my gift will be good enough.”

Ze shook his head. “You could’ve gotten me a rock and I’d love it. Because it came from you. You could’ve gotten me anything and I’d love it. Except a dead body, then I’d probably leave you,” Ze chuckled, smiling when Chilled laughed.

“Well, I’m glad they don’t just sell dead bodies for which I could purchase.”

They grinned before Chilled went back to making pancakes. Ze kept his arms around him and watched as he poured the batter onto the pan.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Ze said as Chilled poured out enough for a second pancake.

“What? There’s not a wrong way to pour batter.”

“Yes there is, and you’re doing it.”

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“How am I doing it wrong?!”

Ze held in a giggle as leaned up and pecked Chilled’s lips. “You gotta kiss your boyfriend first.”

Chilled playfully rolled his eyes. “I guess that would be a requirement, hm?”

“Yes.”

Chilled just looked at him before leaning down and placing a small kiss on his forehead. “Satisfied?”

“Mhm, for now.”

“Well, I can give you more later if you’d like.” He winked as Ze started to blush and roll his eyes.

“Just go make your pancakes.”

So he did. He made enough for the two of them and then some. Ze was quietly watching over his shoulder until he finished. Then he went to go get them some drinks.

Chilled brought the plate of pancakes to the table and went to get butter and maple syrup. Ze poured them orange juice and brought utensils.

They ate in a comfortable silence, giving each other smiles every few minutes when they looked over to the other.

They finished in a few minutes, with Chilled offering to clean up. He picked up both plates, cups, and the utensils to go wash them while Ze put away the butter and syrup.

“Thank you,” Chilled smiled over to Ze after he closed the refrigerator.

“Anytime, hon,” Ze smiled back and went to sit at the table. “So, when are we opening our presents?”

“Oh! Um, we can open them after I clean the rest of these,” he motioned to the cups and one plate he had to finish.

“That works, I’ll go ahead and pull them out then,” Ze said as he walked to the living room and got out a bag and a huge box.

Chilled watched and saw his average-wrapped gift on the left and Ze’s average-designed bag on the right. He was starting to get nervous again. He knew what he was going to say, and what the card said, but that didn’t make him any less nervous. What if it all went wrong?

He couldn’t keep thinking that. It wasn’t helping him. It was too late to go back on the idea now anyway. It was just a matter of time.

“Chiiiilllyy, you done?” Ze called out, spotting Chilled who was zoned out. He tilted his head and walked over to him. “Chilled?”

He didn’t answer, too focused on what he was thinking about.

Ze snapped his fingers in front of Chilled’s face, finally getting his attention. “Something’s up, Anthony. What’s buggin’ you?”

Chilled just looked at him. “It’s just.. My gift..”

Ze interrupted him. “I’ll say it again. Anything you could’ve gotten I’ll love. You don’t need to worry about it, okay?”

A small smile appeared on Chilled’s face as he pulled Ze into a hug. Ze hugged him back and gently patted his back before pulling away.

“Now, let’s go open some presents.”

They headed off to the living room and grabbed their gift and sat it in front of them.

“Who’s opening what first?” Chilled asked, looking down at his bag.

“Open mine first!” Ze excitedly said, looking at the bag as well.

Chilled nodded and carefully took out the tissue paper. A card fell out.

“Read the card first,” Ze instructed. Chilled nodded and opened the card to see what it read.

Hey, Anthony. Merry Christmas. This is the third Christmas we’ve spent together, right? I think so. Anyways I wanted to make this one extremely special. Don’t ask why, I’ll probably do something over the top next year anyway. But, for now, I wanted to get you something that couldn’t be bought. So instead of buying something, I made something. Hopefully it’ll make do, because it’s a list of why I love you.

Love, Steven.

Chilled was already beginning to tear up, so he pulled out what Ze had made him. It was homemade, like he said in the letter. It was a long list cut up into sections, with each part being framed and put together to have the ability to fold up if needed. There had to be at least a hundred things listed. Many of them described the little things, like how he would mumble in his sleep or that he gets excited over small things. There were others that were a bit bigger, like how he would go out of his way to make people feel better when they were feeling down, or how he always tried his best to keep his friends happy all the time. There were even little comments written beside some of them. Some saying “Really love this one!!” or “It may be really little, but I still love it about you” and those kind of comments. It left Chilled speechless as he read through all the different things. He read about half of them before he started to let tears slip down his face. He managed to get through all of them before looking back up. Ze was lightly smiling as he watched Chilled read through the list.

Chilled was looking at him, trying to get out any kind of words. All he could manage to say was a very quiet “Thank you,” followed by a hug. Ze smiled more and hugged him back, whispering a quiet “You’re welcome.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes while Chilled collected himself. He needed to be able to say what he needed to with no hesitation.

After they pulled away, Chilled looked back to Ze’s gift and smiled. “I love it so much.. You put so much effort into it.. It’s beautiful.”

“Well, I wanted you to know why I love you, me just saying it doesn’t seem enough,” Ze smiled back to him, glancing at his gift.

“Well.. Hopefully my gift will be equally as heart warming. I put a lot of thought into it…”

Ze rolled his eyes. “I’m going to love it.”

He began to unwrap the box, only to discover another wrapped box inside of it.

“Chilled… You didn’t…” he sighed as he opened the next box, being greeted with another wrapped box.

Chilled only watched, not replying. He was way too nervous.

Ze had to unwrap and unbox about another four boxes before reaching the smallest box. He wasn’t too annoyed, only slightly. That was a lot of effort just to put into one present. Before he unwrapped the last box, he looked up to Chilled.

“Please tell me this isn’t a glitter bomb…”

Chilled shook his his head, indicating that it wasn’t.

Ze was skeptical, but unwrapped the last of the paper. A small card fell into his lap before he could notice the type of box he was holding. He picked up the card and read it.

You’re probably annoyed at me for wrapping this in so many boxes… but I didn’t want it to be given away too quickly. I wanted to wait until today. It seemed like a good time for it… I hope that it doesn’t seem too rushed, I know it’s only been two years of our relationship, but we’ve been friends for longer. I’ve felt a connection to you since day one.. I’m only hoping you felt/feel the same way. I love you so much Steven. I ask that you look up to me so I can finish..

Ze quietly began to speak without looking up.

“An-Anthony… You’re… You’re not…” He only looked up after he saw a slight shift from Chilled from the corner of his eye.

Chilled took a deep breath and quietly took the box from him.

“This is what’s been on my mind for the past couple of weeks… This moment right here. I didn’t know how to exactly go about this, so this popped into my head. I think I’m going to end up repeating some things from the letter,” he gave a small chuckle, “so I hope it’s not too repetitive. I feel like our connection we’ve had since we became friends had strengthened over the years, which is how we got into our relationship. I want to think that it’s strong enough for this too… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Steven. I really do. Your gift that you just gave me.. It was so thoughtful and the sweetest thing I’ve ever gotten. It made me love you even more than I have before. To know that you’d go through the trouble for a Christmas gift.. It’s so thoughtful. That’s what I admire about you. You’re so thoughtful, not to mention adorable, caring, hilarious, and everything good to possibly describe a human being. So, thank you. Thank you for putting up with my shenanigans. Thank you for being you. But um… I kinda steered away from the point.. So,” he took a deep breath and opened the box to show the ring, ”Steven Viking, will you marry me?”

It felt like time had stopped as Chilled waited for Ze to answer. What if he said no? What if this was all a mistake? His negative thoughts from before were crawling back. He was about to close the box before Ze basically tackled him into a hug.

“Oh my… Oh my god, A-Anthony! Of course I’ll marry you! Oh my god, oh my.. I can’t believe you would..” Chilled had to put his hands behind him to keep him from falling back onto the ground. But after he balanced himself, he instantly went to hug Ze back. They were there for a good ten minutes before Ze finally pulled back, his eyes red and puffy. He had the biggest smile on his face to make up for it.

“C-Can I try on the ring? Please?” Ze asked, looking at the ring. He was absolutely memorized. Chilled nodded and took the ring out, gently placing it on his ring finger. It fit perfectly. Guess he got it sized correctly.

Ze just looked at it for a few minutes, not saying anything. He finally managed to choke out a reply. “It-It’s perfect…”

Chilled smiled more before replying, “It will never be as perfect as you, Steven.”

Ze just stared up to him, lovestruck. Chilled was gently smiling to him before he was met with Ze leaning up and kissing him with enough force to push him back. It was filled with a newfound passion and love that he couldn’t have expressed before. Chilled was able to match it, not using his arms to support him anymore. It caused him to fall to the ground, Ze falling on top.

He wrapped his arms around Ze’s waist to keep him there, even if he was a little but uncomfortable. He didn’t mind.

After another few moments, they both needed air, so Ze pushed himself off of Chilled and sat up. Chilled got up as well, catching his breath back.

After they mostly got their breaths back, Ze spoke up.

“Th-Thank you..”

Chilled tilted his head. “What for?”

“Just.. Thank you… I don’t have any specific reason…”

Chilled smiled. “Well, whatever the reason may be, you’re welcome.”

“Oh, and one more thing, Chilly.”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Zeeby.”

#zrc #zeroyalchaos #royalchaos #this was the most I've ever written and I'm so happy #derp cult #derpcult

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leisurelypanda · 7 years

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Here We Go Again chapter 12

It was late January, which meant two things for Maple Bay, Maine. First, it was cold as shit and people walked around looking twice as large as they actually were. Second, Michael’s birthday, February 2nd, was coming up. He was turning 40 and Craig had spent the past couple weeks planning a big party/baby shower for the occasion. It was a good thing all their friends lived in the cul-de-sac. Amanda would miss it, but there was no avoiding that. Her college was just too far away, even for a weekend trip.

Despite what his bro said, Craig knew that he was having trouble sleeping. In fact, he was sure that it was one of the reasons why Michael would volunteer to get up in the middle of the night when River was crying. Working from home as he was, he was able to get work done, but he also fell asleep more often. Every now and then he had to go into the office for meetings or other business, but for the most part he stayed at home. The doctor insisted that he was fine and this was a natural part of pregnancy, but Craig still found himself wishing he could help.

It got to the point that he was looking up pregnancy pillows while he was at work. He got up and raised his desk to a standing position so he could stretch his legs while he looked these things up. Some were tiny, and while it would be convenient, size wasn’t so much an issue when they had a king-size bed. Some were huge, and he had a feeling that his bro would need it the closer he got to his due date. It would make cuddling more difficult, but if it meant that he could sleep better and not wake up sore, that was okay. He eventually settled on a U-shaped memory foam pillow that could support Michael’s stomach and back simultaneously, which would be more convenient than trying to arrange about a dozen pillows and hoping they didn’t fall off the bed or something. He just hoped that it would arrive in time.

He knew what Amanda was planning, though that would have to wait until she got back from college. It was a personal project that he was convinced Michael would love. Briar and Hazel had gone out with Smashley last weekend to get their gifts, which mostly consisted of sports themed baby clothes. They were convinced that their brothers would be athletic like them and were determined to make it a reality. Briar had apparently asked her mom if they sold Hogwarts House themed onesies and if it was too early to start guessing which Hogwarts Houses they would be in. Smashley, knowing that they were reading Harry Potter but not much about it, just smiled and nodded.

River would be turning 2 about a month after Michael. She was making small sentences now. He was “Dada,” Michael was “Papa,” Hazel and Briar were too complicated for her. For some bizarre reason, Smashley couldn’t get River to call her, “Mama.” Instead, she was “Smag.” She also knew “Arnold,” “capy,” “s’ghetti” (spaghetti), “food,” “tired,” about a couple dozen other words and Craig’s personal favorite, “potty.” They had started potty training her, and while it was slow going, Craig was looking forward to not changing diapers as often… until the twins were born anyway. Then their home would be buried in diapers. Fortunately Briar and Hazel were old enough to help out so Craig and Michael wouldn’t be completely on their own.

Suddenly his secretary entered the room to inform him that his next meeting was in 20 minutes. He lowered his standing desk and looked at the clock. He still had a few hours before he could leave the office. He sighed, straightened his tie, and flipped through the calendar on his desk to June, which was circled in blue marker. The twins would be born sometime by mid-June at the latest. They were almost halfway through the pregnancy. The suspense is killing me, he thought. Though Michael probably has it even worse. He took a deep breath and walked out of the room. “So remind me what this meeting is about.” ****************************************************************************************************

Michael was sitting in the Coffee Spoon working on a project since he had gotten bored at home. And by working, he was mostly staring at a screen drinking decaf trying to string two thoughts together long enough to make some headway on his project. His client, thankfully, was understanding and accepting of his predicament. At least Mat can make a decent cup of coffee even if it’s decaf, he thought. Though he wasn’t convinced that not being able to drink coffee was worth making fewer trips to the bathroom, he complied with the doctor’s advice. Dr. Whittaker was adamant that he avoid all caffeinated drinks to keep his heart rate down as well as his babies’. That didn’t mean that he had to like it.

He looked up at the clock and saw that it was a quarter after 3 and decided that he would call it a day. He hadn’t gotten as much done as he had hoped, but it was an acceptable amount of work for a Monday. He put his laptop in his bag and slung it over his shoulder as he eased himself out of his chair. Mat saw him heading towards the door and went to help him.

“Thanks, Mat,” he said.

“No problem, buddy,” he replied. “Hey before I forget, I got something for you. Come on.”

Michael paused before the door and followed Mat behind the counter to his office. It was kind of bizarre to think that even a coffee shop had an office, but he figured that even Mat had to deal with the tedious paperwork of running a business, as cool as he was. The office was about what he expected. A bit disheveled, a little chaotic, and smelling like a mix between coffee beans and that uniquely office smell. Mat rummaged through one of the piles of paper on his desk and held up a CD. Michael took it. It was labeled, “Prego Playlist No. 1.”

“I figured being… you know, pregnant would be a bit stressful at this time of life,” Mat explained. “And some people find music relaxing and then I figured that this might be good once the kids can hear things and I figured you’d want something good for them to listen to so they have good taste or something when they’re born and now I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

Michael wiped a tear from his eye and smiled at his friend. “Thank you, I’ll listen to it as soon as I get home,” he said.

Mat returned the smile. “No problem, dude.” They made their way back to the front of the store. “Just don’t do what we did the last time I recommended you music.”

Michael laughed. “I thought we vowed never to speak of it again.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Anyway, I hope you like it.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done listening to it,” he promised. Mat held the door open for him and he started walking home. Briskly. It was cold as shit and while his body felt like a hot box at times, that didn’t mean that the blistering cold was at all welcome. Thankfully, his laziness had given him the good sense to drive to the coffee shop instead of walking like he might have done otherwise. It would save time and with luck he would get a good parking spot to pick up the girls from school. ****************************************************************************************************

Michael sat next to Hazel at the kitchen table helping her with her math homework. Unfortunately, their math class had gotten to fractions, which was frankly headache inducing. Of course that might just be the pregnancy, he thought. Regardless, even as a financial adviser he knew something of fractions, so it was relatively simple. Within a half hour, Hazel finished her homework and made a mad dash from the table. Michael chuckled and followed her. He got to the living room and River, who was playing with Briar on the floor, cried “Papa!” and got up and ran over to him. Michael smiled and squat down as much as he was able to and picked her up and blew a raspberry in her cheek. She giggled.

“You having fun?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said sheepishly. Then she whispered, “I need to potty.”

“You do?” he whispered back. She nodded. “Yes!”

“Let’s go then,” he said. He set her on the floor and she grabbed his finger and they headed towards the bathroom. When she was done she grabbed what seemed to be half the roll of toilet paper and Michael entered negotiations for more modest amounts. As soon as they were done washing their hands, River climbed down the step stool and ran over to the toilet and grabbed the end of the toilet paper and held it over her head as she ran off shrieking with laughter. Michael was able to break off the trail before she got too far, but it did nothing to dampen her spirits. She waved it around and loved it. Briar handed her an old toilet paper roll to her and she held it up to her eye looking around shouting, “Aaar!”

At that moment Craig walked into the room from work. River ran over to him and held her arms up. “Daddy!” she shouted. He bent down and picked her up and kissed her cheek. She held up the toilet paper roll to his eye and he looked through it, sounding excited and amazed at her marvelous discovery. Michael’s heart melted at the sight.

Craig came over to him and gave a quick peck. “How was your day?”

“Not as productive as I would have liked, but what can you do?” he replied. “I wasn’t as tired today as I have been, though, so that’s a good sign.”

“Good, I’m glad, bro,” he said. “Hungry?”

“Food!” River confirmed. “I want s’ghetti!”

“Spaghetti it is,” Craig replied.

“Dad, River always wants spaghetti,” Hazel said.

“And when you were her age, you always cheerios and Briar wanted bananas,” Craig replied.

“Amanda asked for orange slices all the time,” Michael said. “It was the only time in her life when I knew her to like fruits and veggies.”

“Well, we have chicken in the fridge,” Michael said. “We can give River some leftovers from the other night and figure something out with that stuff.” He got out some food and Craig started chopping an onion.

“We always have chicken, too,” Briar complained.

“Kids, if you keep complaining then I’ll make brussel sprouts and that’ll be your dinner,” Craig said over his shoulder.

“No! Sorry! We’ll be good,” Hazel pleaded.

“Actually brussel sprouts sound pretty good right about now,” Michael said.

“You want sprouts, bro? I’ll make sprouts,” Craig replied.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” the girls cried, reaching up towards the sky as they sunk down on the floor and signifying their dramatic death scene. Craig casually stepped over them to get the fridge. River clapped her hands.

“Maybe they should sign up for theater,” Michael said from where he was feeding River/making sure she didn’t send the bowl of spaghetti to the floor.

“Don’t tempt the universe, bro,” Craig warned. “Life is busy enough without my girls getting involved with theater. My brother was in theater during high school. When they were getting ready for a show, we barely saw him.”

“Somehow I think that they’ll be too busy with their sports to get involved in theater, bro,” he said.

“Lucky for us,” Craig replied.

#craig cahn x dadsona #briar cahn #hazel cahn #river cahn #dream daddy #ddadds #Here We Go Again #fanfic #my work

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randylavalley · 5 years

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HOW TO SEE TORONTO’S TOP ATTRACTIONS IN 48 HOURS

Toronto's been my home base for the last 4 years. And also while I may not have stepped foot in the city before relocating there in September 2013, I have actually definitely taken my role as a full time tourist pretty seriously in Canada's amusement capitol! Throughout my time in Toronto, I've uncovered a few secret bars, discovered some impressive gluten-free & vegan eats, and also learned the streets inside and out.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've put together a 48-hour itinerary for every one of Toronto's top tourist attractions for first-timers. After showing around my city to a couple of out-of-town visitors, I have my tour guide down pat and I thought I would certainly challenge myself to make this itinerary extremely reliable to maximize your time in Toronto!

I've additionally consisted of some tips concerning Toronto transit passes, essential courtesies as well as various other general Toronto ideas at the end of this post to make your trip a little bit simpler. And there are also some recommendations for some all-day tasks in case you require to plan for a third day in the 6ix.

So without more so long, below's just how you can see Toronto's leading tourist attractions in two days!

A 48-Hour Overview to Toronto's Leading Tourist attractions

Day 1

Starving Musician

Address: 810 University Street

Hours: 9 am-- 6 pm daily

Start your early morning at one of Toronto's brunch staples: Starving Artist. Known for its waffles, you can have a pleasant or savoury breakfast to load you up for your day ahead. My individual favourite is the Starving 4 Waffles covered with strawberries. The gluten-free as well as vegan waffles have a slight banana preference from the banana in the batter, so pleasant garnishes make the ideal pairing! It features fruit as well as your choice of salad or maple-baked beans.

There are also options like chicken and also waffles, or eggs benedict waffles for your omnivorous buddies!

Keep in mind: This is a cash-only facility. $20 is sufficient to cover a solitary morning meal with a coffee. They also have an ATM on website, in case you're like me and forget these points all the time.

Ossington Laneway

Instructions: Starving Artist to Ossington Laneway

Walk time: About 15 minutes

After a filling up breakfast, stroll down one of Toronto's the majority of famous roads- Ossington Method. Lined with attractive store fronts, one-of-a-kind breweries and also regional cafe, the appeal of this method will capture your heart!

Continue down Ossington up until you're virtually at Queen Road. Transform right, and also become the alley between Queen and also Humbert Streets. This is one of Toronto's graffiti treasures. As opposed to dealing with tags with white paint, Toronto police collaborated with the city of Toronto to create attractive street art along the Ossington Laneway! Since then, it's come to be the very best spot to see promising street musicians in Toronto!

Queen Street West

After scoping out Ossington Laneway as well as breaking some pictures, proceed East along Queen Road West. With a lot of special secondhand as well as document shops, delicious restaurants, the beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park, and enjoyable road art, it's the best method to connect with the neighborhood Toronto scene. A few of my favorite shops are The Paper Area (straight throughout from Trinity Bellwoods park), Mother Loves Vintage, Black Market, as well as Anthropologie (not a Toronto business, however this particular area is stunning)!

Graffiti Street

Instructions: Ossington Laneway to Graffiti Street

Stroll time: About 20 minutes

As you proceed roaming down Queen Street West, take a mild detour at Portland Street (at the Loblaws) to Hurry Lane, the street way running beside Queen Street. The whole alleyway is lined with some of the city's finest graffiti! And it's so iconic to Toronto thanks to Canadian comic Rick Mercer who would certainly film his political tirades in these alleys.

Khao San Road

Address: 11 Charlotte Road (instructions from Graffiti Street right here).

Hours: Monday- Saturday 11:30 -2:30 pm and 5-10 pm; Sunday 5-10 pm.

As soon as you have your fill of Instagram-worthy images from Graffiti Street, make your means over to Khao San Roadway for some scrumptious gluten-free and vegan Thai food! Unlike a lot of Thai dining establishments, who have shrimp paste in many things, Khao San Road has actually committed gluten-free as well as vegan menus with a lot of choices.

I highly suggest their gluten-free and also vegan fresh rolls as a starter. They're packed with carrot, lettuce, thai basil, mint, and fresh baked peanuts covered in rice paper, as well as a chilli tamarind dipping sauce! They likewise have a broad variety of curries, noodle as well as signature meals for mains. I went with the vegan green curry (gaeng kaew wan) when I went and I was not disappointed.

If you're fatigued of flavor, don't worry- you can choose anywhere between non-spice (0) and melt your challenge (11 ).

City Hall.

Instructions: Khao San Road to Town Hall.

Walk time: Little under 20 mins.

After refuelling with some tasty Thai food, make your way back approximately Queen Street West and also continue strolling eastern up until you struck the row of food vendors aligned beyond Nathan Phillips Square, also called the balcony beyond Toronto's Town hall!

During the summer months, the structure has a gorgeous water feature before the iconic multicoloured Toronto indication. And also once the city ices up over in cold weather, you can rent skates for $10 simply outside the rink! And in case you're questioning what the attractive structure next door is, it's Toronto's old city hall!

Eaton Centre.

Instructions: Town Hall to Eaton Centre.

Stroll time: 4 mins.

Found at the crossways of Queen Street West and also the longest street in The United States and Canada, Yonge Road, the Eaton Centre is Toronto's only downtown shopping mall. If you remain in Toronto throughout the ramp up to the holidays, it's most definitely worth appearing even just to see the mall's decorations!

Fun fact: The Eaton Centre was named after Eaton's department store, which was once Canada's largest outlet store. The chain store and also its catalogue played such an essential function in Canadian background, that it's memory lives on in among Canada's most well well-known children's tales: The Hockey Coat by Roch Provider.

Yonge-Dundas Square.

As soon as you walk through the Eaton Centre, you can exit on the main degree into Yonge-Dundas Square. Called Toronto's "Times Square," the square holds many concerts, demonstrations, buskers as well as-- naturally-- signboards. While it might not be as huge as Times Square, it's most definitely worth the stop off.

Kensington Market.

Directions: Yonge-Dundas Square to Kensington Market.

Stroll time: About 20 minutes.

Continue West along Dundas Road up until you strike Spadina Opportunity and also you'll strike Kensington Market! Situated in the heart of Chinatown, this hip area is recognized for its fusion food, street art, buskers, cheap consumes, pre-owned clothing stores, and funky bars!

Insect Dining establishment.

Instructions: Kensington Market to Grasshopper.

Walk time: Regarding 6 minutes.

Located nearby from the Northern idea of Kensington Market, Insect Dining establishment is a gluten-free as well as vegan foodie's desire! Start with a scrumptious offering of their sesame french fries, which are deep fried in sesame oil. For a primary, I extremely advise both the miso veggie dish as well as the mushroom 'n rice bowl. They're both unbelievable filling therefore delicious that I can never choose in between the two! (Luckily, my boyfriend wants to get both so we can go halfsies!) And also if you're still feeling peckish after dinner, I highly advise their cashew cookie! It's the excellent amount of wonderful to round off your meal!

Cold Tea.

After a tasty supper at Insect, head back right into Kensington Market to among Toronto's much-loved secret bars! This location is definitely off the visitor radar, as many Torontonians don't also understand where it is! Head down the hallway to the right of Kensington Shopping mall, until you get to the blinking traffic signal. During the week there's no line, so it looks a bit sketchy, but trust me it deserves it! (I won't spoil the shock when you initially stroll within, but it'll be the strangest bar experience you'll have in Toronto!).

Day 2.

Hibiscus.

Address: 238 Augusta Avenue.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11:30 -6 pm; Weekend break 11:30 -9 pm; Closed Mondays.

Day 2 starts off once more in Kensington Market at one of my preferred gluten-free and also vegan brunch places in the city! With plenty of vegan alternatives, Hibiscus is a wonderful location to obtain a filling breakfast. I highly suggest obtaining among their cold matchas to go along with their vegan mozzarella, tomato, basil, spinach as well as mushroom buckwheat crepe that comes topped with zucchini and also avocado. It's virtually unsubstantiated that these large crepes are vegan as well as gluten-free! And also if you're not in the state of mind for crepes, their quinoa salad and also everyday soup are always a hit!

CN Tower.

Directions: Hibiscus to CN Tower.

Hrs: 9 am-- 10:30 pm.

Admission: $36 per grownup.

After a filling up breakfast, make your way over to among Toronto's the majority of legendary landmarks-- the CN Tower. Integrated in 1973, the CN Tower held the title of the tallest freestanding framework worldwide for 31 years. Standing at 553 metres tall (1,812 feet or 147 storeys), you can see the entire Greater Toronto Location and also have an outstanding sight of the Billy Diocesan Airport out on Toronto Island. If you're lucky, you can see part of a Blue Jay's game over at the Rogers Centre! At the lower observation deck, you can walk the CN Tower as well as snap selfies on the glass floor. (If you're brave, do a little jump on the glass flooring!) There's likewise the choice to go to their higher observation deck or, for adventurers, you can stroll along the edge of the tower for an additional expense.

Union Station.

Directions: CN Tower to Union Station by means of COURSE.

Stroll time: 5 mins.

When you have actually had your fill of Toronto up in the sky, come back to road level as well as head over to among Toronto's earliest structures, Union Station. The station connects all significant trains in midtown Toronto including TTC (downtown Toronto transportation), the GO Train (attaching the GTA to Toronto) and also VIA Rail (Canada's nationwide rail service). The structure is currently going through indoor renovations, yet will certainly soon consist of a shopping centre inside. Nevertheless, the beaux-arts architecture of the station is certainly an amazing consider Canada's history!

Gooderham Building.

Instructions: Union Station to Gooderham Building.

Stroll time: About 10 mins.

From Union station, proceed strolling eastern along Front Street past the Hockey Hall of Fame (in case you doubted just how much Canadians enjoy hockey) towards its junction with Wellington Road. There you'll discover one more New york city City look-alike! The Gooderham Building is Toronto's Apartment Iron Structure doppelgänger! It's a cross in between Romanesque Rebirth and French Gothic style and also by far among my most preferred structures in the city!

Planta Burger.

Directions: Gooderham Structure to Planta Burger.

Walk time: Regarding 10 minutes.

After checking out several of Toronto's a lot of iconic structures, get a fast lunch break at one of the city's up as well as coming plant-based restaurant chains! Planta Burger turned up this summer after the large success of its original Planta dining establishment in Yorkville. The burger patties are nut-free as well as gluten-free, and also there is the gluten-free option of a collard green cover. Try The golden state bunless hamburger option, and also for the complete burger joint impact, add some fries as well as a strawberry mylkshake!

St. James Park.

Instructions: Planta Hamburger to St. James Park.

Walk time: About 8 minutes.

After lunch, take a soothing walk over to St. James Park. Situated alongside among Toronto's oldest churchgoers, the park uses unbelievably manicured gardens as well as a stunning gazebo. Delight in the flowers and citizens grabbing lunch before rushing back to the workplace. St. James Park is really one of the most attractive parks in the city!

St. Lawrence Market.

Instructions: St. James Park to St. Lawrence Market.

Walk time: 2 mins.

Hrs: Tuesday-Thursday 8 am-- 6 pm; Friday 8 am-- 7 pm; Saturday 5 am-- 5 pm; Closed Sunday & Monday.

Simply southern of St. James Park is just one of Toronto's many renowned markets, the St. Lawrence Market! The domed structure was first built in the city given that 1803, with a 2nd structure homes what once was Toronto Municipal government erected in 1845. It was named the world's best food market by National Geographic in 2012 for its wide variety of meats, cheeses, produce as well as plenty of neighborhood vendors offering classic Canadian souvenirs. Sadly, there aren't numerous gluten-free or vegan choices, but it's certainly worth checking out!

Ethiopiques.

Instructions: St. Lawrence Market to Ethiopiques.

Stroll time: Concerning 15 minutes.

As soon as you're done checking out the St. Lawrence Market location as well as are ready for dinner, head over to one of Toronto's best Ethiopian-owned dining establishments, Ethiopiques! As Toronto is one of the most multicultural city in the world with majority its occupants birthed outside of Canada, I would extremely advise attempting foods from various societies while you're visiting! Ethiopiques deals gluten-free injera and also a big vegan plate, which offers example sizes of its several vegan dishes. A single person plate might quickly feed two individuals if you were still a bit complete from lunch.

Distillery District.

Directions: Ethiopiques to Distillery Area.

Hrs: Monday-Wednesday 10 am-- 7 pm; Thursday- Saturday 10 am-- 8 pm; Sunday 11 am-- 6 pm.

Admission: FREE (Examine Xmas Market for admission from mid-November with December).

An excellent method to end the evening is in the romantic Distillery District. Previously called Gooderham & Worts Distillery-- who started their financially rewarding windmill service to transform grain right into flour-- the Distillery District is recognized for its uncommonly premium Victorian industrial structures. It has since ended up being house to a number of local dining establishments and stores, including Toronto-made apparel, jewellery, knick knacks as well as vintages!

Around the holidays, the Distillery Area Xmas Market pops up as well as Torontonians flood to the happy historic premises! With mulled white wine under big space heaters, a variety of handmade wooden accessories and also carollers, it's the best way to start the holiday celebrations in Toronto!

Other Tips To See Toronto's Top Tourist attractions.

Toronto City Tips.

That needs a North Celebrity when Toronto's obtained a South Post? The CN Tower shows up from almost every corner of the 6ix, and unless you have actually taken a trip south of Front Street, it's the south tip of the city. I used it practically such as a compass throughout my time in the city. Follow roadway policies when walking or on the escalator. I can not emphasize this point enough. Torontonians are busy individuals and will probably either call out "Excuse me" in an upset voice or will certainly huff as they walk you on a hectic sidewalk. If you're not in a rush, stick to the appropriate side of the escalator or pathway to appease the residents.

Transportation.

Toronto is most definitely a walking city. Throughout my four years there, it was my primary mode of transportation. Please bring comfortable walking shoes for your trip.

Public transit is $3.25 per adult. Toronto Transportation Compensation (TTC) accepts coins, Presto cards and symbols (to be eliminated soon) on all streetcars, buses and also metro stops. New TTC streetcars and all metro stops accept credit cards.

On weekend breaks, a single day pass ($ 11) covers two grownups and also up to four children under the age of 19. Throughout the week, grownups must pay individually for the solitary day pass or for a single-use pass. This is readily available for purchase only at subway terminals.

FOR THIS TRAVEL PLAN: I would certainly NOT advise getting a day pass for Day 1, as all locations are within a 20 minute stroll of one another at the most. Day 2 would certainly be an optional day pass, as there are three 'trips' that are thirty minutes or more apart by public transit (totalling to $9.75 per adult). If you feel you would certainly take public transportation a 4th time that day, you're better off with a day pass as opposed to paying the $3.25 single-use pass.

More of Toronto's Leading Tourist attractions (Day 3 possibilities).

Where are Toronto's many Instagrammable graffiti places?

Toronto also warm to manage? Cool off at these 3 Toronto beaches!

What's Toronto's favourite means to leave the city during summertime? Have A Look At Toronto Island right here!

Gluten-free & vegan in Toronto? NOT A PROBLEM. (Like actually. At all.) Below are my 7 favourite brunch spots to begin your time off right!

Make use of the warm temperatures and admire the Greater Toronto Location's charm at the Scarborough Bluffs!

Who recognized Toronto had a castle?! Venture a bit north in the city for a stunning journey via time at Casa Loma!

Seeking to knock back some neighborhood brewskies on the affordable? Check out some of Toronto's best dive bars!

Go out to Niagara Falls for the day! With 7 various methods to see one of Canada's best wonders, it's impossible to leave dissatisfied! Optional: Stop off at one of Niagara's several wineries, consisting of an ice winery- a Canadian specialized.

The post “ HOW TO SEE TORONTO’S TOP ATTRACTIONS IN 48 HOURS “ was appeared first on the full time tourist

The IV Lounge - IV Therapy Toronto Drip Clinic

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charmingyourheart · 4 years

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Prompt: A sheriff is infected with an incurable disease in a secret underground military complex.

(Warnings in the tags.)

It was a sunny afternoon, and it had been twelve days since Varis had had his routine physical, with a side order of serum.

He was due to leave Earth in twelve months; at least, if various councils would stop sticking their noses where they weren’t wanted. If the plan had been followed, Varis would be enjoying his afternoon on Mars right now.

As it was, he had only just had the serum that was going to allow humans to live on Mars on a more permanent basis.

He had been told to keep an eye out for any side effects, and given a range that were “acceptable”. Thus far, nothing.

Varis had kept to his job, Sheriff for the town of Nowhere. It was a job that kept him active, let him get to know most of the people, and would be of great help in his future role as law enforcement on Mars.

But for today, in the late afternoon sun, an off-duty Varis was standing in line at a small coffee shop, waiting for his latte.

“Eight ninety, please sheriff.”

His overpriced latte.

Jamie, the barista, shrugged apologetically. “I just sell it. Though, if you don’t mind, could I ask you a favour?”

Varis paid, raising an eyebrow. “What kind?”

“Could you check in on my gran?”

(READ MORE)

Varis thought for a moment. “Main Street, right?”

“Yes. She hasn’t answered anyone’s calls, and you’ve heard the rumours, right?”

The rumours had been the bane of Varis’s work for the past three weeks.

Phone calls from worried parents, children lost for hours, days at a time. Dogs howling at shadows, cats avoiding entire streets. The mice, all congregating around the park.

Checking in on a gran was going to be easy enough.

“Sure thing, Jamie,” Varis answered, saluting Jamie with his cup. “I’ll make sure she calls as well.”

“Thanks Sheriff,” Jamie said, before turning to the next customer.

Such a shame he’s single.

Varis turned, frowning. He’d heard someone speak, but no one was looking at him. Shaking it off, he left the cafe.

It wasn’t worth driving to Main Street. It’d take longer to get his car out of it’s parking spot, and into the traffic of everyone driving home. Additionally, his car had been playing up again- he’d have to take it back to the enchanter and get it properly looked over.

A nice walk on a sunny afternoon, latte in hand. What’s the worst that can happen?

He hummed to himself, nodding to people as he passed them on the street. As he passed the ferry terminal, there was a group of students, running to catch the boat across the bay.

Shitshitshit. I forgot my pass. I’ll have to jump the gates again.

Varis turned to look at the students, but none of them were paying him mind.

“WAIT!” He called, running to get through the turnstiles. The students were through and on the boat, not paying any attention to him.

How’d he know?

What’s his problem?

In his attempt to catch up the teenagers he crashed into the turnstile. Time seemed to slow down as the cold metal winded him and his latte went flying from his hand. The almost nine dollar latte, the one he had barely taken two mouthfuls of smashed into the ground, the contents spilling dirt stained tiles.

My coffee!

Laughter and a few sympathetic words echoed in his mind.

A small part of him mourned the loss and as he looked up Varis spied the fare evading teenagers pointing directly at him as the boat pulled away from the pier. It was just his luck. He seemed destined to not be able to enjoy anything. He couldn’t wait to get back to Mars, at least coffee there didn’t cost him an arm and a leg.

Check out those buns…

Blushing,Varis straightened before he moved away from the turnstile. The voice had been female in tone and given the crowds it was impossible to pinpoint who it had come from.

With as much dignity as he could muster he left the terminal and set back out on his initial mission.

As Varis rounded the corner onto Main St, the voices in his head seemed to quieten. Maybe he was going insane. Given his day so far, it wouldn’t surprise him.

Maple trees lined the oldest street in Nowhere. The green lawns, charmingly weathered homes, and the odd child on a bicycle transported him from the twenty-first century to a Norman Rockwell painting.

Alice Coulter’s house was marked by its sunny yellow colour and the overabundance of lawn gnomes that were set up in some elaborate story she would tell anyone who would listen. The first step squeaked as Varis stepped up to her door. A voice in his head begged for mercy, the Lord’s prayer running on a loop before silence fell.

Disconcerted, his hand shook slightly as he raised it to knock on the door. No one answered. He tried again. Once more no one came to the door. Peering into the window, Varis couldn’t see any signs of life.

I knew I should have gagged him. If I knew he’d be such a screamer I would have duct taped his mouth shut.

Frowning, Varis turned around to the sweet face of Ms. Coulter. A Betty White look alike, she wore a red leisure suit and the innocent smile of a well loved grandmother.

“Mrs Coulter,” he relaxed, “Jamie sent me round to check on you.”

“Oh dear… I hope I haven’t put you out.”

“No ma'am, but she’s been worried about you given all the disappearances in town lately.”

“I’ve just been at the markets getting strawberries for my jam. This year Shirley Goldman won’t take gold.”

Bit hard to take gold when you’re six feet under Shirl.

Varis assessed the elderly woman critically. There was no evidence of her shopping trip and he could see dark red splatters maring her otherwise immaculate clothing.

“Right…” He trailed off as he stepped down from the porch. “You haven’t seen anything in the area have you?”

“Me?” She blinked innocently. “Nothing out of the ordinary unless you count Deidre Flock’s sudden win streak at bridge.”

Cheating hussy. You’re next.

Her lips hadn’t moved, but they might as well have. Her smile was as serene as it was when she first answered the door, but there were the beginnings of strain.

“Does Mrs Flock not normally win?”

“Never.”

Stop asking questions.

“Hopeless at the game.”

I don’t like to prolong it.

“We all take pity on her, you know.”

Could’ve been back to making the jam already.

“She hasn’t got long to live, if you take my meaning.”

Just like him.

Varis shook his head, barely able to follow the conversation. It felt as though two were taking place; the one coming from her mouth, and the one that wasn’t.

Mrs Coulter tilted her head. “Are you okay, Sheriff? You don’t look well.”

All that exercise. You need some fat on you. It’s good for the brain.

“Why does everyone keep commenting on my body?”

Mrs Coulter frowned. “I didn’t say a word.”

A sheriff who can read minds, is not long for this world.

Varis straightened up, taking a step back from Mrs Coulter. “Mrs Coulter, it is an offence to make a threat against an officer of the state.”

“Didn’t say a thing,” she answered, all sweetness gone.

Varis realised that, no, she didn’t say anything.

A sheriff who can read minds, is not long for this world- that was her thought. And the law hadn’t quite caught up with the idea of using telepathy as evidence.

Nothing Mrs Coulter had said or done was in any way suspicious. And the fallout from arresting a ninety three year old? Unthinkable.

Go on home, before you think of taking a look around my home.

Varis put a hand to his head. “I don’t think I’m feeling too well, Mrs Coulter. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”

Blast, I can’t just say no. What will people think?

“You know where the bathroom is,” she said, stepping back from the door. “It hasn’t changed since you were last here.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” Varis muttered, quickly making his way to the bathroom before closing the door behind him.

Get a grip on yourself, Varis. He stared at himself in the mirror. Besides the look of a man who had spent all day on his feet, he didn’t look too bad. And nothing had happened to suggest that he would spontaneously develop telepathy today.

He got out his phone, thinking to call his doctor.

They’ll stop you from going to Mars.

That thought stopped him. After all, maybe he didn’t have telepathy, and all of this was just a side effect of not having had enough caffeine for the day.

He put his phone away. No one would get hurt if he waited a day to talk to a doctor.

He ran the water, splashing some on his face. As if some catalyst, thoughts came into his head that were not his own.

He’s taking too long. I’ll just go check on my other guest.

Oh no, she’s coming back. She’ll see that I broke free, and- ohshit.

He knew he should investigate. After all that's what good Sheriff's do. Except he knew if he poked his nose where it didn't belong he would end up with an axe in his back or worse.

No no noooo…

And he so desperately wanted to return to Mars. His last sojourn there had been too short a mere five earth years. It was unfair really.

No. Varis steeled himself and came to terms with a decision he decidedly would have to live with for the remainder of his life.

Drying his hands on the hand embroided hand towel Varis waited for that pleading voice in his head to go quiet. It took all of fives minutes.

He'd counted.

Mrs Coulter liked to take her time.

His stomach rolled at the thought and he desperately hoped she wasn't lurking behind a wall somewhere ready to pounce.

"Thank you!" Varis called out as he left the bathroom, "I'll tell Jamie you're doing fine. I really must be going now."

He received no response but he still ran as fast as his long legs could carry him. Should he tip someone off about the elderly woman with the dimpled smile and the cold blood of a seasoned killer? How long had she been doing this? Who would even believe him?

As he briskly walked back down main street, everything seemed a little darker, a little less Rockwellian.

His phone rang, the ringtone a tinny version of My Humps that came straight out of 2005. His sister had programmed it as a joke and three years later and about a million online videos later he was no closer to figuring out how to change it back.

Unknown number.

It was either a scam or work, neither worth his time at the end of his day. With a sigh he answered anyway.

"Hello?"

"Ah… am I speaking to Varis Katsumoto?" A female voice he didn't recognise asked.

"Speaking."

"Mr Katsumoto, my name is Maria Liu, I'm one of the physicians at Startech Laboratories. I believe you have been attending every two weeks for the past six month to prepare for the Gamma V expedition to Mars."

Frowning, Varis couldn't recall ever meeting someone with that name. "Correct."

"Well… This is a little awkward," she paused for a moment, seemingly trying to gather her words. "You see you've been given the wrong serum and have been from the start. Unfortunately you won't be able to launch with the Gamma V. The next scheduled date for Mars is in three years, we are more than happy to-"

Son of a bitch.

#writblr #writing #written by: sian #written by: jay #team write #urban fantasy week #urban fantasy #original fiction #tw: death #tw: murder #ask to tag

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forkfridge91-blog · 5 years

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Letter from Lexi: July 2019

Happy JULY, friends!

June was fun! We we’re on the move a bit! We went to NYC to celebrate Mike’s birthday with my family, then celebrated his birthday a bunch here in Boston! We also went camping in Ithaca, NY (well, glamping) and it was MAGICAL. So magical, I asked them for a discount for all of you! If you followed along, and want to experience Firelights Camp in Ithaca, use LEXISCLEANKITCHEN for 10% off your stay when you book!

This month we’re staying put for a good majority of the month, and I’m pretty excited about what we have going on!

What to expect this month:

Last month on Lexi’s Clean Kitchen, we were on the move, sharing travel snacks and hacks, and this month we’re sharing all about a good STAYCATION. It can be easy to get in that trap of biding our time between vacations, waiting for that next trip away or time away from work. Living this way can lead to disappointment with the life that happens in between. If you ask me, that time, those regular everyday moments are the ones that count the most and should be celebrated! So this month we are focused on investigating and sharing the beauty of staycations, time off taken in our own homes and enjoyment right where we are instead of traveling elsewhere. Not to mention, staycations can be a lot more practical than vacations and can be lots of fun!

Good reads coming up in July:

Safer Sunscreen 101

8 Reasons to Take a Staycation This Summer

Travel Essentials I Never Leave Without (in case you’re on the move)

How to Have a Wellness Retreat at Home

How to Have the BEST Beach Day

My Favorite Restaurants in Boston

A sneak peak of some recipes coming up:

As always, this month will be jam packed with healthy new recipes, how to’s and guides to keep your kitchen and life filled with delicious food!

Classic Pasta Salad

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

How to Make Quinoa

One Pan Moroccan Fish

Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

How to Cut a Pineapple

Paloma Cocktail

Chicken Caesar Burgers

Raspberry Breakfast Oatmeal Bars

Strawberry Shortcake

Gluten-free Biscuits

and MORE!

8 Things I’m loving right NOW:

Currently reading:

The Light in Summer by Mary McNear: Find yourself transported to the idyllic world of Butternut Lake, a summery retreat where main character Billy Harper feels most like herself. Follow Billy’s journey on Butternut Lake for one fateful season, during which she comes to terms with the past, faces changes in her relationships, and realizes that happy doesn’t always have to mean perfection.

I’m making my way through this summer book list!

What you missed in June:

June was all about being ON THE MOVE, so we had many articles to help your travels. Check out these if you missed them:

Travel Friendly Store-Bought Clean Eating Snacks

15 Tips for Ultimate Summer Grilling

9 Tips for Healthier Summer Travel

My Must-Have Travel Supplements

16 Must-Read Books for Summer

How I Found a Therapist

Did you see our dairy free and vegan milk guide?

We tasted and tested so many dairy free and vegan milks to find the BEST and EASIEST ones for you to make at home! Check out the guide that dishes out all the details. Even if you aren’t dairy free these milks are nutrient dense and delicious so worth checking out!

Vegan and Dairy Free Milk Guide

How to Make Coconut Milk

How to Make Cashew Milk

How to Make Pecan Milk

How to Make Oat Milk

How to Make Almond Milk

Some other recipes you might have missed in June:

Great dinner options:

Sweet & Crunchy Thai Slaw with Chicken

Strawberry and Mango Salsa Chicken

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken with Artichokes and Asparagus (video)

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Garlic and Lime Marinated Flank Steak

Easy Cucumber Salad with Lots of Herbs!

Chopped Antipasto Salad with Chicken

Tomato, Eggplant, and Chickpea Stew

How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce with a video and how to make it into the best dairy-free Mac and Cheese!

Breakfast ideas:

Maple Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Breakfast Prep Baked Egg Cups

All the sweet stuff:

Gluten-Free Funfetti Blondies

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

Gluten-Free Cherry Pie Bars (video)

4th of July Blueberry Pie (Gluten-Free)

P.S. did you see…

My cookbook is *STILL* on sale! I love seeing you all cook from it weekly, so keep tagging me, and snag a copy while it’s 35% off (for over 150 recipes, guides, and more)!

Let’s CONNECT:

The best way to never miss anything is to sign up for our weekly newsletter! Sign up here, and you’ll get just one email a week recapping everything that happened on Lexi’s Clean Kitchen and more.

Make sure you’re following us on social media to stay connected with us elsewhere! We are on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Also, our private Facebook group is a wonderful community!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here!

XO,

Lexi

Source: https://lexiscleankitchen.com/letter-from-lexi-july-2019/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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samuelmmarcus · 6 years

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New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram

Peninsula measures 6 ft x 4.5 ft. and counters are Salt White Marble.

Paint Color: Valspar Mountain Mist.

Kettle: Crate & Barrel.

“Let’s Stay Home” sign: Here.

Runner & Flooring

This pink kitchen runner is one of the cheeriest pieces of home décor I own. I paired it with the wallpaper to make our kitchen more playful.

Runner: Here.

Flooring: Wickham Hardwood, Maple (color Walnut) – similar here, here & here.

Cabinet Paint Color

Kitchen cabinets are Maple, painted Benjamin Moore White.

Canisters: West Elm.

Backsplash is Daltile Subway Tile, 3×6 in Arctic White – similar here.

Appliances: Thermador Range, GE Café Series Refrigerator.

Marble Clock: Sur la Table.

Cabinet Cup Pulls: Hickory Hardware.

Sink & Faucet

While it might not be the most picturesque faucet, I love how we can turn the faucet on and off without dripping on our marble counters. Definitely a functional win!

Kitchen Faucet: Faucet, Moen Motionsense Chrome.

Kitchen Sink: 33” Farmhouse Fireclay Sink.

Kitchen Towel: Kate Spade.

Lighting & Barstools

Barstools: Serena & Lily.

Lighting: Visual Comfort – 15 Inch Wide.

Utensil Holder: West Elm.

Breakfast Nook

Table is RH – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Chairs are RH – similar here & here.

Pillows: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Chandelier & Wallpaper

Wallpaper is from Serena & Lily in Denim.

Chandelier is Visual Comfort.

Playroom

Sofa is from HD Buttercup

Window Treatment throughout home are plantation shutters by American Vision Windows

Paint Color

Paint color is Valspar Mountain Mist.

Inspired by this Look:

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Sofa

Some might think a white sofa and children do not go together. And they would be right! However, I love the crisp look of a white sofa so I chose a slipcover that can be removed and washed.

Sofa is from HD Buttercup.

Ottomans: Etsy.

Artwork: Minted.

Rug: Pottery Barn.

Mudcloth Pillow is by Bryar Wolf – similar here.

Playroom Media Center

Not fancy or even perfectly styled, but that is mom life! This media center holds all the extra toys and books and games.

TV: Samsung.

Gray bins are from IKEA – similar here.

Media Center: Pottery Barn.

Knobs: Restoration Hardware Dillon Knobs.

African Wall Baskets: Etsy.

Desk

Both the desk and window-seat are IKEA hacks. I upgraded the desk by swapping out the hardware and I made the IKEA Kallax bookshelf-turned-window seat feel more custom by adding a bench cushion.

Rattan Mirror: Pottery Barn.

Vintage rug found on Etsy – similar here.

Window

Pillows and bench cushion by Tonic Living – Similar Bench: here (on sale!) & here.

Bins found at Target.

Living Room

Our sectional is actually a recliner and the chaise lifts up for hidden storage. I love how functional it is for our family.

Stair posts are Benjamin Moore Super White and stain was a custom mix.

Artwork on wall by @sarahcnightingale.

Sofa: West Elm.

Paint Color

Wall paint color is Benjamin Moore London Fog.

Rug is discontinued – similar here.

Seagrass lidded basket: here – similar.

Fireplace

Choosing a split-faced stone for the fireplace is still one of my favorite design decisions.

Stone: Wayfair.

Chair: West Elm.

Moroccan Leather Pouf: here.

Fireplace Sconces: Pottery Barn.

Shelves

Believe it or not, farmhouse style was my first love.

Shelves are IKEA and I spray painted the brackets Rustoleum Hammered Copper.

Grid Photo Frame: McGee.

Walnut Frame: McGee.

Brass Bells: McGee.

Rustic Vase: Here.

Artwork on top by @sarahcnightingale.

Others items mix of flea market and HomeGoods finds (including bottom baskets) – similar baskets: here.

Coffee Table

Coffee Table: here.

Coffee Table Decor: Wooden Bowl, similar moss, similar wooden beads & similar vintage bells.

Sofa Pillows: here, here, here & here.

Dining Room

Dining Table & Bench: West Elm.

Rug is vintage – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Wooden Candle holders are locally sourced.

Planter in corner is from HomeGoods – similar here & here.

Good Vibes

There is a casualness about my design style which is probably why I gravitate towards word art. And I love the boldness of this black and white piece.

Artwork by JaxnBlvd.

Stool: Target.

Dining Room Chairs

Chairs are by InMod – similar here, here & here.

Lighting: West Elm – similar here.

Mirror: here.

Floor basket: Pier 1.

Kids Corner

Pillows by Tonic Living – similar here.

Rug & Seagrass boxes from Homegoods – similar rug & baskets.

Shelf and baskets from IKEA .

Reading Nook

Decals by Urban Walls.

Chair: World Market.

Paper Mache Animal Heads: Fox, Rabbit & Deer.

Elephant Side Table: Serena & Lily.

Rug: here – similar.

Prints by Society6.

Guest Bedroom

Adding board and batten was a game changer in this room. It instantly made the guest bedroom feel loftier than its standard 8 ft. ceiling height.

Leather Bed: CB2.

Duvet Cover: here.

Nightstand: West Elm.

Throw: here, here & here.

Rug: here.

Paint Color

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.

Candle Holders: Crate & Barrel.

Pillows: Black & White & Bolster Pillow – similar.

Artwork: here.

Guest Bathroom

Bathroom wall paint is Behr Sterling.

Vanity: Wayfair.

Faucet is Kohler Bancroft.

Mirror: Uttermost.

Hand Towel: McGee.

Wood pot from HomeGoods.

Floor Tile: Wayfair.

Master Bathroom

This is our only bathroom upstairs, so it was important for us to keep a separate tub for our kids. Paint color is Behr Light French Gray.

Paint Cabinet Color: Benjamin Moore Simply White.

Tile is Ceramiche Caesar Porcelain Tile in MORE Manhattan – similar here.

Rug is from HomeGoods – similar here & here.

Vanity: Pottery Barn.

Art Print from Serena & Lily.

Crytal knob by Emtek.

Tub: Wayfair.

Stool: Serena & Lily.

Master Bedroom

I love having a neutral bedroom that I can easily switch up by swapping out pillows and throws.

Bed: Wayfair.

Blue quilt from HomeGoods.

Throw: Etsy – similar here.

Full Length Mirror: here – similar.

Rug: Lulu & Georgia.

Textures

Bench from RJ Imports – similar here.

Duvet Cover: Anthropologie.

Wall Basket: here – similar.

Pillows: Velvet Pillows, Mudcloth Pillows, Lumbar – similar.

Stripe vase from Crate & Barrel.

Faux Stems: Crate & Barrel.

Nightstands from Crate & Barrel discontinued but similar ones here, here, here & here.

Paint Color

Paint color is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.

One of my favorite things about this house is the amount of closet space. Our master has a his and hers closet. The smaller one behind that door is the his, of course.

Ladder is from Crate & Barrel.

DIY

The wall art here was an easy DIY. I put mudcloth scraps in black frames to give this corner a boho chic look.

Chair from HD Buttercup – other beautiful chairs: here, here, here & here.

Side table: here.

Bench: here.

Dresser: Pottery Barn.

Desk

Desk from Restoration Hardware – other beautiful desks: here & here.

Chair is from IKEA – similar here.

Pillow: Serena & Lily.

Hanging planter is from Homegoods – similar here.

Baskets: Serena & Lily.

Rug is from Homegoods – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Many thanks to Erin for sharing all of the details above.

Make sure to follow Erin on Instagram to see more of her beautiful home!

Amazing End-of-Season Sales!

Serena & Lily: Tent Sale Up to 70% off! – Enjoy an Extra 20% OFF. Use Code HOORAY

Wayfair: UP to 75% OFF – Huge Sales on Decor, Furniture & Rugs!!!

Joss & Main: Best Prices of 2018 – Up to 70% Off

Pottery Barn: Buy More, Save More – 20% Off Sidewide + Free shipping: use Code: HELLO19

One Kings Lane: Final Days to Save: Take an Extra 20% Off Markdowns with Code OKL20MORE.

West Elm: Big New Year Sale: 20% Off Your Entire Purchase! Use Code: NEWYEAR

Pier 1: Huge Sales – Up to 60% Off!

Anthropologie: Winter Tag Sale: All sales at an extra 40% Off! Amazing!

Posts of the Week:

2019 New Year Home Tour.

Family-friendly Home Design.

Christmas Inspiration.

Interior Design Ideas.

Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Transitional Home Design.

Newlyweds Home Design.

Family Home Renovation with Casual Interiors.

2018 Norton Children’s Hospital Raffle Home.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: California Beach House.

Neutral Home Interior Ideas.

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Come Follow me on

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Contact Luciane

��For your shopping convenience, this post might contain links to retailers where you can purchase the products (or similar) featured. I make a small commission if you use these links to make your purchase so thank you for your support!”

from Home http://www.homebunch.com/new-year-new-beautiful-homes-of-instagram/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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futurelivinginspiration · 6 years

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Where Tiny Houses and Big Dreams Grow

A tech entrepreneur and his friends make a weekend community in the woods.

BARRYVILLE, N.Y. — Five years ago, Zach Klein, a successful tech entrepreneur then in his late 20s, was living in New York City but dreaming of the wilderness. A former Eagle scout, partner atCollegeHumor, and founder of Vimeo, the elegant online video platform, he was in between ventures, teaching entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts and spinning cycles, as he put it, while looking for land to buy — a lot of land — upon which he hoped to spend time building things and reconnecting to the scouting skills of his childhood.

Most urgently, he hoped he could persuade his friends to come along for the ride.

Mr. Klein got lucky in Sullivan County, N.Y., where he found 50 acres of forest with an understory of ferns and mossy boulders, lightly accessorized with a rough-hewed, one-room shack free from plumbing and electricity and a separate sleeping porch perched on a steep hill overlooking a rushing stream called Beaver Brook.

The property belonged to Scott Newkirk, a New York designer, and much of its appeal lay in Mr. Newkirk’s aesthetic: His shack and porch were lovely enough to have been featured in New York magazine. After 10 years there, Mr. Newkirk was ready to move on, and for about $280,000, Mr. Klein had found his utopia.

Beaver Brook, as he named it, inhabits a nexus of themes: a millennial’s version of the Adirondack camps of the robber barons, the back-to-the-land movements and intentional communities of the 1950s and ’60s, and a combination folk school/artists’ residency.

While hedge funders tend to express themselves in ever-bigger shingled simulacrums of early 20th century waterfront estates, those in the tech world who’ve enjoyed similar success may be more interested in experience, community and relationships, as Lane Becker, a founder of digital start-ups and the author of “Get Lucky,” a tech business primer on serendipity, pointed out.

“To the extent they want to spend their money, it’s on stuff like that,” he said. Mr. Becker and his wife, Courtney Skott, a furniture maker, were in Denver last weekend for a wedding, staying with a couple — a start-up entrepreneur and a television producer — who had rehabbed a Masonic Lodge. “They Airbnb some of the rooms out,” Mr. Becker said, “less because they need the money but because they’d like to get know different people. That’s sort of the model of what Zach’s doing. Some might see a sort of hipster-twee affectation, but I think there’s a more genuine impulse at work.”

Mr. Klein’s inspirations are familiar: the writings of Stewart Brand, the ’60s era eco guru and editor of the Whole Earth Catalogue; and John Seymour, the author of “The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it, ” along with the architectural ideals of Christopher Alexander. Other touchstones included a maple sugar shanty he once visited as a child, a community of Hobbitlike tiny houses called Trout Gulch built by some tech friends in Santa Cruz, Calif., and a yurt village built by a family in the Adirondacks.

But his pitch was pretty simple, said Courtney Klein, a digital strategist and entrepreneur, who married Mr. Klein at Beaver Brook in 2012. “It was, ‘Let’s get a piece of land and we could bring all our friends together and have a good time.’ ”

And so it began. In August 2010, the couple hosted a weekend of “bonfires, contemplation and wood chopping,” among other activities. They cooked stew in the shack, now called Scott’s Cabin, for Mr. Newkirk, and which Mr. Newkirk had outfitted with a propane stove, and washed up by hauling five-gallon containers from the brook.

Some guests bunked in the shack and sleeping porch; others pitched tents among the ferns. The experience was the model for what would be a kind of weekend commune, an experiment in episodic off-the-grid-living with a core of eight friends that has grown to about 20, including five children (Nell Klein arrived just over a year ago. )

There was Brian Jacobs, a sound designer and composer and Mr. Klein’s former roommate in New York City. He had been a junior Maine guide and his proficiency with an ax served the group well. There was Jace Cooke, a founder of the tech start-up Giphy, and other young creatives — animators, app designers, musicians and filmmakers.

Mr. Jacobs brought Grace Kapin, who worked in fashion, one weekend; having survived that, they are now married and building a cabin there. Before long, everyone became handy with chain saws and other power tools; they brought in more experienced builders to oversee large projects and teach the group carpentry skills.

There were rookie mistakes. An early project, a barrel-shaped tub, floated away one spring when the snow melted and the brook rose. Composting drew bears. (Ms. Kapin named their ursine visitors: Alan Ginzbear, Stephen Colbear, Marion Beary.)

The group made art on their camping weekends, including a winsomeshort film about building a stool from an oak tree, and took enticing photographs that looked like they had been art-directed by the editors of Kinfolk magazine. Since 2009, Mr. Klein had been collecting images of sheds, shacks, cabins and huts into a Tumblr blog he called, cunningly, Cabin Porn, and he also posted Beaver Brook’s embellishments, captured in those photographs, there.

When the blog, an enchanting rabbit hole of tiny handmade houses, quickly went viral, his private utopia became public record, and book publishers came courting, seeing in Cabin Porn the architectural equivalent of Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York. The result, “Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere,” is out this week from Little, Brown.

Three years ago, Mr. Klein began inviting artisans like Tom Bonamici, a product designer with an expertise in woodworking and timber framing, to hold annual weeklong workshops at Beaver Brook for paying students to learn building skills. Mr. Klein, whose latest endeavor is DIY, an online “maker” site for children, is keenly interested in turning Beaver Brook into both a folk school and an artists’ residency.

After his first workshop, and at Mr. Klein’s urging, Mr. Bonamici, a gentle Oregonian with a passion for traditional Japanese timber framing, became a Beaver Brook resident.

Like all utopias, this one changed as it grew. It was three years ago that the Bunkhouse was built, on a piece of land across the brook with road frontage, electricity and a well. Camping in Scott’s Cabin or in tents strewn about the hill had lost its luster, Mr. Klein said, “People got slower and slower about volunteering to do the dishes on cold nights.” And without power, Beaver Brook’s season was contained to the warmer months.

Yet there is some nostalgia for the time “before,” when there was no cellphone coverage, Wi-Fi or hot water. This year’s Beaver Brook workshop project was timber framing, the foundation for an outdoor kitchen the residents hope will bring some of the action back to the Arcadian side of the brook. Six students paid $500 for Mr. Bonamici’s tutelage; the fee covered a week’s worth of chef-cooked meals and groceries (Mr. Klein and Ms. Klein paid for materials and Mr. Bonamici’s stipend).

On the last night of the workshop, students and residents ate by candlelight among the sturdy framework they’d built. “It was like old times,” Mr. Klein said.

The Bunkhouse, Mr. Klein said, was also bait for a plan he was hatching to draw Ms. Klein, Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Kapin into full-time residency at Beaver Brook. The four discussed buying a local market, perhaps putting a bar in its basement until Ms. Klein put the kibosh on the plan.

While Beaver Brook, she said, “did snowball pretty quickly from something that had more meaning than a weekend house,” it was not her life plan to settle permanently in rural Sullivan County.

“Courtney was the voice of reason,” Ms. Kapin said.

The Kleins have since moved to San Francisco, where DIY is based. Ms. Klein and Ms. Kapin, who still lives in Brooklyn, are partners inStorq, a line of maternity clothes that Ms. Klein founded.

Mr. Klein and Ms. Klein are Beaver Brook’s owners, and they pay taxes and insurance on the properties. Beaver Brook residents are divided by their dues into two categories: Bunkers pay $150 a month for a guaranteed bed in the Bunkhouse. Campers pay $75 a month for a spot across the brook.

Bedrooms at the Bunkhouse, an airy open-plan house designed around the frame of a 19th-century barn, are first come first served. It’s the most practical system, Mr. Klein said.

Last year, 100 people, give or take, spent at least one night in the house. Over Labor Day, he and Ms. Klein and Nell were sleeping in a first-floor bedroom that has been outfitted with a crib, one of three separate bedrooms.

Most of the sleeping options are communal: In an open loft space upstairs, there are two double beds; the Bunkroom, which is also upstairs, has eight futons on its wide-planked yellow pine floor. It’s Mr. Klein’s favorite place to sleep. “I love being up here with eight snoring buddies,” he said.

As for projects, there is one simple rule, Mr. Klein said: “As long as the thing you want to do doesn’t cause irreversible change, just go for it.” Idan Cohen, an amateur chef, organized the building of a cob oven one work weekend this summer. As it happens, Ms. Kapin’s and Mr. Jacobs’s stunning wedge of a cabin, dubbed Clydeshead for their dog, Clyde, was Mr. Klein’s idea.

“It’s his special skill to talk people into doing something ambitious,” Ms. Kapin said. (Given Mr. Klein’s hope to anchor his friends more permanently to Beaver Brook, one suspects in this instance a deeper motive.)

With a budget of $10,000, Mr. Jacobs’s and Ms. Kapin’s original vision of a cube tucked into the hill receded pretty quickly. “Once we talked to people who knew what they were doing,” Mr. Jacobs said, “we realized we’d have to build a retaining wall, there’d be backhoes involved...”

Mr. Jacobs’s brother, Mike, is an architect, and he designed a refined 350-foot rectangle cantilevered out over the hill that uses the surrounding trees as supports. That particular innovation depends on treehouse technology, an anchor bolt known as a Garnier Limb. (Michael Garnier, an Oregon based treehouse builder — and treehouse dweller — is sometimes known as the father of the modern treehouse movement.)

There are Beaver Brook rituals, like the annual talent show, held New Year’s Eve in the Bunkhouse. Newbies earn a nickname after their third night on the property, and following a requisite post-sauna plunge in the brook after dark. (Mr. Klein’s is Zubaz, for the virulently patterned pants that he and other Buffalo Bills fans like to wear. Ms. Kapin’s is Guns, for the Linda Hamilton-like biceps she developed building her cabin.)

On work weekends, newcomers might be assigned grunt work chores like path maintenance. “It is much, much harder than you’d imagine,” Ms. Kapin said with a slight shudder.

There’s an email chain, for planning projects and working out domestic issues. Laundry has been particularly thorny. With so many beds and no assigned rooms, the residents were struggling until it was suggested they bring their own sheets and towels. One resident offered to cross-stitch everyone’s names on their linens.

Beekeeping has been broached as a project for next summer (Mr. Klein has a hankering for mead). In August, Mr. Klein sent around a Beaver Brook logo he and Mr. Cooke designed as a book stamp for their growing Bunkhouse library.

Unlike the vicious, trollish tenor of, say, the internal communiqués of Manhattan co-ops, Beaver Brook residents write with civility and a regular refrain of “awesome!”

“I think this is an important step,” Mr. Klein wrote, weighing in on the recent laundry discussion, “towards delegating the responsibilities for making BB work, creating a more camp-like culture, and raising the bar of participation to be more intentional. Cheers or jeers?”

Back home in San Francisco, the email chain is Mr. Klein’s primary online community, as he pines for his East Coast retreat.

Sunday nights are rough, he added. “It’s when everyone is driving back to the city from Beaver Brook,” he said, “and I get a flurry of photos of the meals they’ve made, or of building the cob oven, and I feel on some level I’m missing out on the life I made.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/fashion/the-cabin-porn-commune.html

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classycollectorartisanposts-blog · 6 years

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how can i afford insurance

"how can i afford insurance

how can i afford insurance

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Im looking to purchase an audi s3 and im 21, however the insurance is too much so what im thinking is to buy the car and then insure the car to my dads name so he can drive it for a year or 2 (I WONT BE INSURED ON IT) until i can be insured on it. My question is, on confused.com it asks when did you purchase the vehicle? And if i put say 2 years ago the price of the insurance drops compared to if i brought it say today. Is it ok to do this? When they ask when did you purcahse the car can i say 2 years ago? Hope this makes sense if you use confused.com you will know what i mean. Im really enthusiastic about audis and in particular the s3, im looking to join the members club online. So will this work to lower my insurance when i want to insure myself on it? Also what will be the deal with the registered keeper and owner of the vehicle? Would that be me? Even though my dad would be the person insured on the vehicle? I know im trying to obtain cheaper insurance but if i dont drive it for 2 years i dont see a problem in this. any ideas? What if my dad is the registered owner then registers it to me in 2 years will i have to say i brought the car 2 years ago or when my dad registers it over to me?""

What is one day liability insurance and where do I get it from?

I want to rent a hall our for my sons birthday party, and the owners said we need one day liability insurance through our insurance. What is it though? And through what insurance of mine do I get it? Also is it expensive? I've never heard of anything like this before and its just making the party planning process that much more stressful. Thanks so much""

Insurance question when you buy a used car?

If you buy a used car and pay cash and carry only the minimum insurance for your state will your current rate go up based on the model and make of the car. Also if you buy a used car and finance it you have to have collision on it right ?

How much would a health insurance company charge to insure a 55yr. man with colitis?

In Northern California on average how much does the minimal amount of gas and insurance cost per month ?

I'm 18 and looking into buying my first car this year. From my understanding the cheapest of Vehicles could be anywhere from $500-$1000 dollars. Since I'm doing this alone I'm asking you from your own personal experiences with car finances.

Which Is the best car insurance?

Hi everyone!! I am a 20 year old single mother. At the moment, I am studying and also about to get back into work. I have just passed my driving test and looking to buy a car....realistically, I think at this point a used one is ok even though I saw a site that sells cars and you can pay on installments. If I wanted a Ford KA, or a Mini Cooper, or a Renault (the one from the I see you baby shaking that asss advert few years ago), which insurance company is best and can give me a good cheaper deal. Thank you!!!!""

How much is motorcycle insurance in michigan?

I know it is hard to get an exact quote without knowing all the information, but I just need a range. I am looking at a 196cc 5 speed dirtbike that has been made street legal, and just need ~3 months of insurance. Would this be in the $100-200 range? Higher? Lower?""

How much does insurance cost for a 2002 mitsubishi eclipse gt for a 16 year old who went through drivers ed?

Can you get business insurance online?

I'm taking over my dads tree care business and need to get business insurance but would rather do it online than have to go in somewhere. Can I do this?

Is mandatory auto insurance constitutional?

Ever since debated started in regards to Obamacare, conservative pundits and politicians have been arguing that making people buy health insurance is unconstitutional. That putting people in jail with fines for not buying something is wrong. Well, what's the difference with auto insurance. People HAVE to have car insurance in the US and are put in jail if they don't. I don't see the difference.""

Cost to insure 2000 bmw 318?

Im 18 and currently live in Iowa. Im looking into buying a used BMW but dont want to pay an insane amount for insurance. I was just wondering what I would pay for a 2000 BMW 318. Sedan v6. Estimated price? Compared to my 2001 4cyl Honda accord sedan? Thanks

What kind of car could i buy under around 4200 and is a cheap on insurance but is fast ?

My son wants to buy a car. Can he use my car insurance?

My son wants to buy a car but he is only listed as a household driver on my insurance policy. He is 23 years old. He lives with me in Pennsylvania. Must he have his own insurance to purchase a car?

Car insurance?

im 17 and learning to drive my mum has a black small car ( not sure what make) im a girl houw much would insurance be any sites help

Who is the best auto insurance agency?

Currently have USAA, but it seems that they just charge for the general population rather than going into more personal charges. Since they are not locally based in NV, they charge for all the other boneheads out here rather than my own driving record.""

how can i afford insurance

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/uninsured-motorcycle-driver-question-anthony-lopez/"

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tonyduncanbb73 · 6 years

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Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend Around Boston: The New Restaurant Edition

Pay a visit to these recently opened spots

Welcome back to Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend, a weekly column in which the Eater Boston team recommends, well, five restaurants to try this weekend. Every Friday, we offer up a blend of old and new spots, typically including a mix of suggestions in Boston proper, Cambridge/Somerville, and farther afield. Sometimes there’s a topical theme; sometimes we just share our favorite standbys or the new places that are exciting us. Bookmark this page for updates; we add new recommendations to the top each week. Can’t hit ‘em all in one weekend? That’s what next weekend is for.

Want more recommendations from Eater staff and fellow readers? Join the Eater Boston Facebook group. Want to make sure your favorite hidden gem is on our radar? Send tips to us via email.

March 30, 2018: The New Restaurant Edition

If you’re not otherwise tied up with Easter or Passover celebrations this weekend, it may be a good time to score a reservation at one or two (or five) of the hot new dining destinations around town. This week’s Five Restaurants to Try are newish to very new and are quickly making names for themselves. From spicy seafood to fried chicken to sashimi, here are some recommendations for the weekend.

For beautiful ceviche and friendly hospitality: Celesteis tiny and adorable and wonderful. The Peruvian restaurant joined Union Square’s bustling dining scene earlier this month, serving up ceviche, lomo saltado (pictured above), and more, along with a nice selection of booze, with a focus on pisco and mezcal. Want to try it this weekend? Note that it’s closed Sundays but open until midnight on Saturdays, with an abbreviated late-night menu kicking in at 10 p.m. 21 Bow St., Union Square, Somerville

For a taste of Uruguay and beyond in a swanky old diner car: La Bodega— from the owners of Cambridge’sacclaimed Salts, which was forced to close in early 2014 due to a burst pipe — sort of quietly opened around Christmas with plans to slowly extend the menu and hours as time went on. It’s been building up momentum over the past few months, and regardless of whether it’s actually celebrated a “grand” opening yet, it’s already well worth a visit. It’s a unique, romantic space (be warned that it can get loud, especially in the diner car section, so don’t count on a very quiet evening.) Drink some wine; eat some steak and assorted small plates; be happy. 21 Nichols Ave., Watertown

For heavenly hushpuppies and hot chicken: And biscuits, too. Southern Proper really does smell like pine, as promised, and the attractive space is the perfect spot in which to gorge yourself on fried chicken — available in classic and hot styles; get the hot if you can handle a bit of a slow burn. Perhaps it’s a bit of a carb-heavy combo for one sitting, but the hushpuppies, biscuits, and chicken are all must-try items, so wear your stretchy pants and dig in.600 Harrison Ave., South End, Boston

For a fun, messy date night: Another newbie in the neighborhood is Bootleg Special, jumping into Boston’s growing Cajun seafood boil scene. Throw on the provided bib and gloves before diving into a big bowl of spicy seafood — choose from crawfish, lobster, shrimp, and more — and be sure to add something boozy on the side, such as a hurricane or daiquiri. 400 Tremont St., South End, Boston

For pretty plates of Japanese food with a touch of Hawai‘i, not to mention loads of sake: Momi Nonmiis the elder of this batch of recommendations, having opened back in October 2017, but we’ll allow it. Located in the former East by Northeast space (it was briefly a burger joint after that), Momi Nonmi serves up beautiful dishes of sashimi, tempura, and more. Splurge on the wagyu beef dumplings, don’t miss the duck confit rice dish, and try out the sizzling loco moco if you’ve got room left. Fan of sake and shochu? The staff will be eager to discuss options with you. 1128 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge

March 23, 2018: The Bao Edition

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Squid ink oyster bao and pork belly bao at Pagu

Today’s theme is bao, simply because we’ve been eating them a lot lately and want to share a few recent favorites with you. Bao is a bit of an ambiguous word; it pops up on menus all over town to refer both to fully enclosed baozi (steamed or baked buns stuffed with various meats or other fillings) and to the wide world of variations on gua bao, or pork belly buns, which sort of resemble a fluffy taco or a sandwich where the bread’s connected on one side. Boston’s got both, but we’re just going to focus on the latter today — steamed bread folded around the traditional filling of pork belly or a range of other meats, sauces, and toppings.

For a meal that fuses Japanese food with Spanish and beyond: Now a little over a year old, Pagu is part of the increasingly awesome edge of Central Square by MIT, a short stretch of Massachusetts Avenue that includes Saloniki, A4cade, Naco Taco, Abide, and lots more. The pork belly bao, served with pickles, peanuts, and cilantro, is exceptional, and there’s another option as well — jet-black squid ink oyster bao, stuffed with panko oyster, “norioli” (nori aioli, naturally), and purple cabbage. Decidedly less traditional; equally worth trying. Also eat: jamón ibérico, Guchi’s midnight ramen, and cedar campfire black cod. 310 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge

For a fun, boozy meal to a loud hip-hop soundtrack: You know it; you love it. Shojo is still going strong in Chinatown — and it’s now a big sibling to two nearby spots, BLR by Shojo and Ruckus. Order a cocktail and get the bulgogi beef bao (with marinated carrots and shinko pear gochujang), the Shojo pig bao (smoked barbecue sauce, kimchi, jalapeno), or the curry cauliflower bao (black bean mayo, onion rings, pea greens). Also eat: pork belly dumplings and shadowless fries. 9A Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston

For a Tiki hangover that is totally worth it: New downtown spot Tiki Rockis a blast. It’s colorful, it’s noisy, and it’s serving up a variety of Tiki drinks that’ll make you happy and pretty tipsy. The food menu focuses on sushi, but there are also some non-sushi entrees, skewers, and appetizers, including the pork belly bun. The pork has a chili maple soy glaze, and it’s served with uni mayo, lettuce, and nori seasoning. Also eat: coconut shrimp and winter squash dumplings, and how about a bowl of ramen at Oisa Ramen next door? 2 Broad St., Downtown Boston

For even more sushi and even more cocktails: Here’s another loud, energy-packed, sushi-packed, boozy option — Fat Baby in South Boston. There’s steak bao (skirt steak, hoisin, pickled Fresnos, bean sprouts) and chicken bao (Thai herbs, carrot, daikon, green chiles, hoisin, and “boom boom” aioli). The Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar sibling also has some solid cocktails. Also eat: the crispy rice cake snack with tuna, any of the crudo options, and the spicy tuna roll. 118 Dorchester St., South Boston

For bao that are not quite bao but eat them anyway: This is theleast bao-like option of the bunch, but Eventide Fenway’s acclaimed brown butter lobster roll and fried oyster bun are served on light, squishy bao-style buns. It’s an easy win for anyone who loves bao and seafood. Also eat: Maine lobster stew, the green salad, and brown butter soft serve. 1321 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston

March 16, 2018: The Beard Edition

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Harissa barbecue duck at Sarma

The James Beard awards — aka the “Oscars of the food world” — are coming up fast, and the nominee list was just announced earlier this week, including a handful of local folks. For the inaugural edition of Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend, we’re featuring restaurants from Boston’s nominees.

For a truly lovely meal you probably won’t be able to eat this weekend because the restaurant’s basically booked up forever: Look, it’s probably too late to get reservations to Sarma for this weekend; sorry. Plan ahead for next weekend…or, like, a month from now. (Or walk in and put your name on the bar waitlist. Try showing up right at 5 p.m. on Sunday.) From Best Chef: Northeast nominee Cassie Piuma, Sarma — sibling to Oleana and Sofra (home to Outstanding Baker nominee Maura Kilpatrick) — serves up “an exhilarating survey of the herbaceous, sun-baked flavors of the Middle East,” according to Eater’s national critic Bill Addison, who named it to his 2016 list of the best restaurants in America. Highlights on the current menu include the Black Sea cornbread, venison wrapped dates, and harissa barbecue duck (pictured above). When ordering, save room for the specials that circulate the room like dim sum, especially the fried chicken. 249 Pearl St., Winter Hill, Somerville

For a dim sum brunch: Sarma’s got its dim sum-like trays of specials; Myers + Chang has dim sum brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. — you’ve got plenty of time to sleep in. The self-proclaimed “indie diner,” a longtime South End staple, serves a “very personal interpretation of Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese specialties,” which includes brunch necessities like Mama Chang’s pork and chive dumplings; grilled corn with Sriracha butter; tea smoked ribs; wild boar dan dan noodles (“hotterest” on the restaurant’s spicy scale); and lots more. Executive chef and partner Karen Akunowicz is a nominee for Best Chef: Northeast. 1145 Washington St., South End, Boston

For a mai tai-soaked brunch: Let’s say you make it to Myers + Chang for Saturday brunch. Why not hit up Tiger Mamafor Sunday brunch (11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), from Best Chef: Northeast nominee Tiffani Faison? There’s everything from Fruity Pebbles doughnuts to a bacon and cheddar-stuffed waffle that comes with Thai chili butter and maple-glazed bacon, not to mention a rotating selection of enticing cocktails. Past Sundays have featured mai tais; a bloody mary that included tamari, sambal, and wasabi; and more. 1363 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston

For a baller sushi feast: Go nuts at Uni, and don’t even worry about thinking — there are a number of omakase options that leave it all in the hands of the chef, spanning from a 10-piece nigiri omakase ($58) up to $185 for an epic tasting of the restaurant’s immaculate sushi. There are plenty of other ways to drop some major cash here as well, from a whole tray of Maine uni for DIY hand rolls ($65) to beluga hybrid caviar ($375). While sushi’s the focus, there are some don’t-miss hot dishes as well. Our pick: the Korean rice cakes with kalbi oxtail, kimchi butter, and gremolata. Chefs and partners Ken Oringer and Tony Messina are both up for Beards — Oringer for Outstanding Restaurateur and Messina for Best Chef: Northeast. 370 Commonwealth Ave., the Eliot Hotel, Back Bay, Boston

For the weirdest “I can’t believe this menu actually works” menu: Oringer is also behind, among other spots, Little Donkey in Cambridge’s Central Square, which he co-owns with Jamie Bissonnette. (The two of them recently debuted a ready-made food crawl that brings diners to Toro, Coppa, and Little Donkey in a row, with transportation included in the price.) When the duo opened Little Donkey in 2016 — one of the top newcomers of the year — they spoke about how they’re tied to certain themes at their other restaurants, but Little Donkey is a place to break the rules and cook whatever they want. That means that matzo ball ramen co-exists with an extensive raw bar selection, duck nachos, seriously spicy Jamaican jerk chicken wings, and lots more. It shouldn’t work. It does. Don’t miss the manti (Istanbul meat ravioli), poke, or Parker House rolls. 505 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge

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flauntpage · 7 years

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Your Monday Morning Roundup

No Wentz. No Wiz. No problem.

Despite a really shoddy performance by the defense, the Nick Foles-led Eagles improved to 12-2 with a 34-29 win over the New York Giants. With the win, the Eagles have clinched a first round bye. All they need to get the top seed in the NFC Playoffs is either a Minnesota loss or an Eagles win in the next two weeks. That should happen.

Many people thought the offense would be a huge concern entering the game. But that was not the case. Foles threw for four touchdowns and spread the ball out very well between Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, and Zach Ertz. And even Chance Warmack did a great job filling in for Stefen Wisniewski.

Instead, it was the defense that floundered, giving up 504 yards against Eli Manning and his depleted group of wide receivers. Sterling Shepard had 139 yards receiving and a touchdown on 11 catches. Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby did not have good games, even though Darby’s interception in the first half was huge.

At times, the team lacked discipline too. On fourth down with the Giants punting in the third quarter, Najee Goode went offsides and that gave New York a first down, which resulted in a Tavarres King touchdown. That can’t happen in the playoffs.

If we’re worried about something, it should be the defense, which looked solid earlier in the season. Maybe a return home can revive their old form for a long period of time, which could be until February.

One note from last night: Patrick Robinson is in the concussion protocol. We might get more info on his injury and Wiz later today from Doug Pederson.

But first, a word from our sponsors:

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The Roundup:

The Sixers had one game over the weekend, which was a triple overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a great game filled with great action and even some barbs traded by Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook, who was getting a ton of attention from the team. They play each other once again in late-January.

It was also the debut of ESPN’s All-Access feature that had the Worldwide Leader cover the Sixers for the entire day. We also got another great gift from Joel Embiid.

The Sixers are in Chicago to take on the Bulls tonight. It’s a homecoming for some, including Robert Covington, who had one of his childhood friends shot and killed last month:

“I’ve seen it growing up. Know people that have gotten killed and know people who have done those type of things but it’s just how Chicago is,” Covington said Monday.

Covington, who started the season shooting 48.7 percent from three-point range through the first 15 games, has seen a decline in his production. Since Nov. 27 he is shooting just 32 percent from deep.

“It was tough for a while seeing how it affected me,” Covington said Sunday. “Overall, I’m in good spirits now. It’s unfortunate that he’s not here anymore, but he’s in a better place.”

Covington wasn’t able to attend the funeral and said that he is hoping to see his friend’s family when he arrives.

Embiid and Trevor Booker won’t play. And we won’t see Furkan Korkmaz for quite some time. He suffered a left Lisfranc injury while with the 87ers.

—

On the ice, after beating the Buffalo Sabres, the Flyers beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in overtime. Both tallies were scored by Shayne Gostisbehere on the power play.

Tonight, they host Jeff Carter and the Los Angeles Kings. The team looks to improve their win-streak to seven games. With a win, they could join the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs to win seven straight after going winless for 10 or more games.

—

The Phillies also made some news on Friday. They traded away Freddy Galvis to the San Diego Padres for Double-A pitcher Enyel De Los Santos. The team also signed former Indians first baseman Carlos Santana to a reported three-year, $60 million deal. Enjoy the Santana jokes for the next three years.

—

In college basketball, Temple edged out Drexel 63-60 Saturday in a City 6 battle. Shizz Alston, Jr. led the way for the Owls with 12 points and five rebounds, while Drexel’s Alihan Demir had 16 points.

Yesterday, La Salle made 16 three-pointers in a 95-85 win over Mercer, and 19 points from Shavar Newkirk and James Demery helped St. Joe’s to a 72-59 win over Maine.

The Dragons are the lone local team in action tonight, as they’ll host Quinnipiac at 7 PM.

Mike Jensen profiles the legendary Speedy Morris, who’s coaching tree is prominent throughout Philadelphia basketball.

And some sad news from over the weekend, as former Owl Big 5 selection Marty Stahurski passed away Saturday morning at the age of 61.

—

In other sports news, Carolina Panthers founder and CEO Jerry Richardson announced he will sell the team after the season is over after allegations of workplace misconduct arose last week. Diddy wants to buy the team, and Steph Curry wants to tag along too.

In action that happened on the field, it was a normal NFL Sunday. In the Patriots-Steelers game, it looked like Jesse James scored the go-ahead touchdown, but after a review, it was reversed:

#Steelers fans, you're going to blame replay but you should blame Jesse James. You must control the ball all the way to the ground. Bobbling the ball when you land is not control. Plain and simple. #NFL #NEvsPIT #Patriotshttp://pic.twitter.com/vX2hYDPmvq

— Bleacher Preacher / Sports (@BleachrPreachr) December 18, 2017

It was still goal-to-go, but Big Ben’s attempt for another fake spike for the win failed. Thanks to a break up by Eric Rowe. Yes, the former Eagle Eric Rowe.

INTERCEPTION!!! DURON HARMON LET’S GOOOO!!! #PATRIOTS WIN!!! #NEvsPIT http://pic.twitter.com/cbY97Xj0UL

— Casey Baker (@CaseyBake16) December 18, 2017

The ruling was correct, but it’s a dumb rule. Joel Embiid knows:

Steelers definitely got screwed.. Those rules don’t make sense

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) December 18, 2017

Meanwhile on Sunday Night Football, this happened:

The Cowboys won the game by the way and are still in the playoff hunt. By this, ANOTHER DUMB RULE (and a dumb decision by Derek Carr):

WOW. #DALvsOAK http://pic.twitter.com/aOZnBTfflR

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2017

This is stupid. And Ezekiel Elliott returns next week.

Cam Newton owned Clay Matthews:

http://pic.twitter.com/uYeBjXeMfB

— Nate Freeman (@NateFreemanNFL) December 18, 2017

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis will reportedly step down as head coach following the end of this season. He denied those reports after the loss to the Vikings.

Atlético Madrid star Antoine Griezmann decided to go full blackface for a costume party. It did not go well and has apologized for it.

In the NBA, Cavs point guard Isaiah Thomas won’t return before Christmas.

Over in Austria, there was a fight off the ice between two players:

An off-ice fight between Chris DeSousa (HC Bolzano) and Tom Zanoski (Medvescak Zagreb) in the Austrian #EBEL league. http://pic.twitter.com/Rgn7bvY2YB

— Aivis Kalniņš (@A_Kalnins) December 18, 2017

The XFL might be coming back?

—

In the news, this year’s reenactment of “Washington’s Crossing” might not happen.

Power was lost at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to a possible fire, but has now been restored.

One of North Korea’s high-ranking officials is missing.

Your Monday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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