are they real...

i've gotten quite a few mails about my shiny fingers over on design mom.

none of it is too terribly precious in terms of money. but if you're talking about shimmer quality? it's all pretty dear. and if you're whispering about how much it all means to me? i'd have to whisper back that it's priceless.

i wear my wedding and engagement stuff on my pinkie because i really don't believe in a ring finger. passive aggressive? party of one? your table's ready. that star sapphire was actually my mother-in-law's engagement ring. even though she has two daughters of her own, she. gave. it. to. me. and she's still alive.

i know.

i always tell uncle sugar that only good people can see the star, and then i hold it at a dark angle. this cracks me up every time.

one more thing. do you save your shimmer for special occasions? or is every day a special occasion? i hope you choose option b. have a sparkly weekend. catch you later, friends. xoxo.

breakfast...

something's up with my girlies three lately. all they want to eat is salami for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. plus i now routinely shake down esmé before bed because i'm quite sure she's hiding a circle or two no matter how many times she tells me she's not.

her lie face stinks.

this morning, i cut grae's salami sandwich into about twenty tiny squares. she'd chipped a tooth last night while wrestling with uncle sugar and her sisters, and i thought it'd still be a little touchy. of course, i'd warned them all only five minutes before.

mom always said, don't play ball in the house.

{sigh}

grae was pleased. i never use that word, but there's no other for her fleeting look of surprise slash genuine gratitude slash sheer contentment.

no matter how old we grow, it's lovely when someone spends an extra moment on us, yes?

i make an awesome breakfast, don't i? i bragged, knowing full well that they don't even trust me to toast their poptarts.

when you were in california, grae said, daddy made us french toast, bacon, omelets, and eggs any way we wanted them.

{sigh}

of course he did.

then she looked at the sandwich i'd carefully cut and arranged in a remedial smiley-faced sort of a set-up, and gave me smile that could turn a blue moon white.

this is better.

her lie face is amazing.

if you'd like to read about my time away in california, you may do so right here. there are even a few pictures. yuck. oh! and these quotes are from quote book, as introduced to me by mary ruffle.

do you...

own an iron? me, neither.

clothes that demand a pressing seem pushy to me. they scare me a little. and those that probably need a little steam? well. i'll be happy to take them to the dry cleaner, but i seriously don't have time to baby a blouse. {i've told you i'm not very nice, though you don't seem to want to believe it.}

also. i am not good with piping hot could burn me to a crisp appliances.

do you even know how irritated this all makes uncle sugar? every time he throws on a linen shirt for the weekend, re-waters it, and presses out whatever wrinkles he can with his clenched fists, he frowns. hard.

kar. are. you. sure. we. don't. have. an. iron?

oh, baby. i'm sure. i left it with our maid in jordan.

yes, i still miss my maid. but don't you worry. i'll get over it. just as soon as i get myself another one. did you giggle? and i'm thinking these items from pour porter probably don't require much heat to be hot. look at the architecture of the second one, will you? smart. xoox.

things i learned this weekend...

lillie and i knocked off a fat seven minutes from our previous 5k race time back in december. who knew that all she had to do was reduce her i can't breathes and i think my ankle's brokens.

next race? i predict we can shave at least five more minutes if she keeps her death glares to herself. just a suggestion...

we weren't even going to go to the race. it was raining. like, sideways raining. and i didn't want esmé to stand in that all morning. her body's still so little, you know?

but grae wanted to run. lillie was more than fine to bag it all and stay home with me and mémé. somehow she was shamed into going, too. and wouldn't you know, the minute they drove away from me, the rain sort of slowed. it always happens that way, doesn't it?

luckily, i've a chronically late but very lovely neighbor who was headed to the same race. she totally saved our day. her daughter ran with us, and my neighbor endured the ramblings of mémé for an hour or so. when we passed them near the end of the course, that little thing was wrapped in a towel, completely dry, and frowning. ugh. i'm quite certain my neighbor, while not a runner at all, would've preferred the race to you-know-who.

i loved showing up minutes before and surprising my family. because i never get to surprise anyone. i'm always here when i tell them i'll be here. always there when i tell them i'll be there. always exactly where they expect me to be. anyway. it was nice to make them gasp. feel that moment of you're here?! you're really really here?!

uncle sugar and i laughed about our girlies three for the rest of the day. he ran with grae, and told me afterwards that she's fueled by rage. by this intense drive - purely internal - to always do better. or else.

of course, that worries me.

lill's speed and determination, on the other hand, only sparked when the crowds along the raceway began cheering. out popped that chandelier smile and some kicks i didn't know her broken ankle had left.

of course, that worries me.

which one are you? internal or external? and, hey. you turned out fine, yes? say yes...

interiors from marmol radziner. because i would like a tub in the den. and i wanted to show jos that table in the last photo. her husband made her one like it. but do. not. try. this. at. home. just ask him. hope your weekend was exactly how i wished it to be on friday. packed until sunday with awesome. full of kisses that made you lose your legs. xoxo, you.

weekend worries and wishes...

i'm starting a cool new assignment next week, which makes me a mix of all aflutter and silly geeked up.

my first thought is always there's no way i can do this or man, this is going to be an epic fail. that's strange, isn't it? because i totally consider myself an everything's possible sort of a girl.

i guess a little anxiety and brief periods of wavering confidence keep us on our toes. plus it totally differentiates us from that wag at every fête who blathers on and on about how awesome her stuff is. right?

hoping your weekend's packed to the sundays with awesome stuff. plus kisses that make you lose your legs. ugh, how i wish i'd written that one. see you around, buttercup. xoxo.

at about nine thirty last night, esmé asked if she could have a sugar cookie.

why not? i shrugged. it'd been a day. pronounced with at least three lazy syllables.

she scrunched up her nose, tilted her little sprite head, and suggested because sugar before bed gives you nightmares?

i gave her two. plus a salami sandwish.

because a sandwish before bed wards off the witches.

don't you just love colloquialisms and littles combined? also loving stylesight. xoxo.

i need your advice...

mary and i are trying something new over at the sweeterie.

and my sister phoned me straight away. i miss your handwriting, she whined. four times.

i shrugged it off because...come on...it's my sister. she adores me. like, to no end. we've known each other for quite a long time. plus i can make her laugh so silently for some serious minutes until she forces out an i. really. can't. do. this. right. now. kar. ey. i'm. work. ing.

{on a side note, i've really been craving a job lately. but i'm not too terribly sure i'd wholeheartedly enjoy places that don't encourage big laughing fits.}

then there's you! you've no dog in this fight. will you help me and mary decide what to do?

pretty fonts? or serial killer penmanship?

i do value your opinions, you know. you already knew that, though, didn't you? xoxo.

oh, how cool...

from the gentleman who brought us this...

now this.

may i say thank you? ok, then. consider it said.

the impossible cool is also a conversation. join in. by the way. picasso? i do love a direct gaze, don't you? and the way she's curled up beside him? there's just something utterly and effortlessly sexy about that gesture, yes? cool.

things i learned this weekend...

i need glasses. and i'm silly crazy for these...

all pretending to be a grown-up, yes? i think i'm searching for that look.

this sings me wide awake, and makes me wonder if it was written for me...

just replace teddy bear with esmé.

this whispers me sleepy...

i met richie last week, which deserves its own post for sure. but all i'll tell you now is that it floors me when imaginary friends become even more magical when they're real. it absolutely floors me. plus, i adore her because she posts genius like this...

i've watched it three times already.

and speaking of imaginary friends, you sent me so many notes last week when i was away. that makes me grin. it's nice when we worry over each other, don't you think?

natalie even sent me this picture...

along with a note that read, in part, this is how your blog makes me feel.

floored.

thank you. all of you. xoxo. and if my words are intermittent this week, it's because we're refreshing our kitchen a bit with new cabinets and shelving. i'm sure that won't take long, right? right?!

you should...

skip over to this site before i eat it all up.



it's that delish. promise.

i'm home...

it's been a whirwind of a few days, but i wanted to pop in and say hello.

hello, you. what's up, buttercup?

one of my favorite pictures of my grae-girl and me, caught by her. i'll be back here soon. and, by the way? all your worried little where-are-you mails just about made my heart explode. thanks for making me feel...i don't know...missed. xoxo.

things i learned this weekend...

the girlies three bought me a fat flying mountain bike for mother's day. and so we rode all weekend, through trails and mud and logs lying in our path and even to the doughnut shop.

i swear. i've never felt so strong and free.

add that to a chilled-out birthday celebration for uncle sugar and a sneak-away sushi date for just the two of us plus only one tearful brawly girlie bedtime, and i'm feeling rather lucky this monday.

i'm going away for a few days this week. flora june's mom asked me to represent her at toyota sienna's design and drive event in newport beach.

any mewing from the girlies three about me leaving is totally overshadowed by their hope that i get to meet celebrities. namely, them.

i have to tell you. i feel supremely guilty about flying away from my girlies three. i do. it feels...selfish. but i suppose it'll be the reset button we all need every once in a while. do you ever leave? like, for days? say yes. in fact? tell me you leave your families for weeks at a time. a month, once. and not even for work-ish stuff. pretend you went on holiday. {sigh.} grow up, karey. xoxo.

photos here. i'm totally dressing like this all summer.

uncle sugar...

i wrote this two years ago for my husband's birthday. since then, we've lived about three lifetimes. more than one of those lifetimes would probably have been better suited for someone who doesn't close her eyes for the majority of scary movies.

pat always tells me when it's safe to look. i think i like that about him. way more than when he advises me to begin all of my idea bubbles with "when we win the lottery..."

evidently, my ideas make more sense then.

anyway. i'm completely unsure of a lot of things. i am. i just am. but no matter what, no matter when, no matter how, i'd bet the house on that boy of mine.

my girlies three have enough love in their little lives to fill an entire blog and a bucket or two, but there will come a day when it won't be enough. which is exactly when they'll begin their searches for more. and when that day comes, i'd love for mine to remember what true love looked like to me...

when your true love walks into your view, you'll know it. he'll be hauling the sun and the moon and all the stars in the sky and a rainbow or two along with him.

and you'll never tire of the spectacle.

your true love will laugh at all the jokes you whisper in his ear. then he'll add a bit of his naughtiness and retell your joke to the room. loudly. and when everyone laughs and tells him how funny he is, he will look at you sheepishly and say the joke was really yours all along. because you're much funnier. which may not be true, but it will be nice that he believes it.

your true love should have a big brain. one that remembers historical events, like when the conflict of 1958 occurred. scientific processes, like the phone. how does it work? and important anniversaries. especially if your brain only remembers pretty things, like love and flowers and we-eloped-on-a-wednesday. this big brain shouldn't make him boring or stuffy or intimidating, though. it should just make him more interested.

your true love may view the world in black and white. right and wrong. yes or no. and that is perfectly fine. as long as he's open to gray and mistakes and maybe.

when your true love sees injustice, his anger should fill all the stand-by-and-do-nothing silences. with really creative expletives. he'll do whatever he can to make it right, or pay someone else to do it. and then? when he talks to you about all the wrong - his and theirs and ours - his heart will probably overflow from his eyes. because the world is worth his tears.

when you ask your true love if he believes in heaven, he should answer yes. without a doubt. but how do you know? you'll ask. i just know, he'll say. and then you will, too.

your true love should have the strongest will of anyone you've ever met. and when he wants to make a change, it will be simple. he just will. because his will is one of his superpowers. but when he does not wish to make a change, it will be simple. he just won't. because his won't is his kryptonite..

your true love might be too much sometimes. too much cubans. too much amber liquid that's hundreds and hundreds of years old. too much words that begin with the letter f. but he is mostly nearly never too much. not for you.

your true love may not be a picnic every day. he may be naughty. maddeningly, heart-breakingly, deliciously naughty. and, really, no one needs a picnic every day. because then it's no longer a picnic. it's lunch.

your true love will probably give the children i'm dreaming of for you most of their naughtiest qualities. like aggro. stubbornness. fightiness. and his too-much-iness. but that's not entirely true. because he will also be the one to show them to lean into life, hold tight to their values no matter how strong the pull, commit, fight to the end for what they believe...and cook the perfect risotto.

and whenever your true love leaves you - for the afternoon or for the week or for forever - you will surely know it. he will take with him your sun and your moon and all the stars in the sky and a rainbow or two.

at least...this is what my true love looks like. happy birthday, uncle sugar.

ancient images from ffffound. i'm starting the weekend early, as we've a giant one planned. hope yours is as epic or as tiny as you need it to be...xoxo.

which lane...

i got some genius color last night.

the girl who normally helps me pretend i've sun streaks even during a blizzard in february was fully booked. this turned out to be a lovely turn for me.

anyway. i love salon talk, don't you? all tawdry. all seedy. it's a good escape.

my little shampoo girl was a doll with flat-out gorgeous tattoos. like, take the most beautiful blooms in hawaii and stick them on your skin stunning.

she was shocked that i loved them so. most people don't like them, she shrugged.

what?! {insert my shock here.} i would've believed her more if she'd told me that most people don't like baby monkeys wearing diapers and bow ties. i mean, this was art. and also? am i being too pollyanna here? isn't throwing out judgy vibes considered...i don't know...passé? common? gross?

say yes.

later, my colorist was talking about her new boyfriend of just a few months. they're heading out on holiday this morning. eleven days of together. she seemed excited but probably also a little nervous.

i don't know, she admitted. people say it's too fast...

i thought about that for a second. just a second. and then i had my grandma tells the roller coaster story moment.

what's wrong with fast? i asked. life is fast. and that's sort of what makes it so exhilarating and exhausting and tragic and...and...i'm not sure what word to add here. because there's nothing quite like it in the world, is there?

i've this theory. this game that i play only in my head. so i usually win.

when i meet someone new or get to know a person, i can feel it if they've ever lost someone. if they ever saw life one minute, and the end of it the next. it's funny. i can discern that far easier and way quicker than i can guess someone's weight.

i'm not sure if there are some complex factors and equations that run through my head, but i for sure know it's about the care they show the world nearest to them. and also how fast they try to live.

hmmm. i was only going to tell you about my genius color. sorry about that. and i forgot how that roller coaster story always makes me misty. it's great, yes? all images found on the photo fairy tumblr: by disappointment only. brilliant.

a good pause...

spending the day with my clementine girl.

enjoy the sunshine if you can catch it. xoxo.

amie adams photography. i'm thinking her slogan should be fat shots of joy. i will work on this.

things i learned this weekend...

i was right. {you'll rarely hear those words from me, so may i savor it a moment? oh, thank you.} these bad boys made me smile all weekend long.

uncle sugar does not like animals. he tends to scowl at most hairy things that crawl around on the floor, including hirsute babies. but he loves our new puppy.

also. uncle sugar is not a veterinarian. but he has diagnosed coco as deaf.

lillie and i simultaneously and optimistically suggested ear implants. one of us was kidding. but our shared instant brightness made uncle sugar smile for quite a while.

speaking of lill, she performed like a pro at her choir concert. looked like a little angel, and i never say that. afterwards, her teacher pulled me aside and thanked me for lillie's manners.

i was waiting for the however.

of course, i filled up the air with nonsense. said something about oh, thank you! i worry so much about these girlies...

her face made that are you crazy sort of a look, and she said the loveliest words i totally needed to hear. totally.

don't worry about lillie. she's quirky, but she's a good girl.

good AND quirky? excellent news.

our schedules are filling up like mad. and that also made me smile all weekend long.

i realize i'm still struggling to find my place here. it's strange. i say no to most invitations, i've not been interested enough to invest in new friendships, and i sometimes {gulp.} feel like i've put my charm on pause. because, in my mind, i'm not going to live here forever.

so. why. bother.

but i don't think that's a good way to live, do you? on pause. so i whole-heartedly decided, during this frantically entertaining and hella tiring and altogether comforting weekend to buy in. say yes more. maybe even get a land line.

how about you? did you have a brilliant weekend? are you committed to where you live? not to sound too prison, but are you locked in for life? are your animals, by any chance, ear donors? and do you like hairy babies?

{publish post? really, karey? ugh.}

i'm more than a little obsessed with zero & maria cornejo. i tried on the asymmetrical cade tunic, and have fallen hard. i really enjoy the geometry of it, don't you? when i tried to find a picture of it to share with you, i stumbled upon bird, which is where i gathered up the rest of the goodies. read their meet the staff section. i loved it. and as i was scrolling through their petite bios, i couldn't help but wonder how the girlies three will someday write their own. i do hope they're sufficiently sure with just the right amount of quirk.