Bubble Bath Ponies

Smell can trigger a memory so strongly, so distinctly, so quickly. I remember right before my brother was born, my mother gave me a scented  My Little Pony that smelled like a bubble bath. It was peptobismol pink with cotton candy blue hair. Whenever I smell bubble bath now, 23 years later, I have an instant flashback to holding that pink and blue pony in my chubby  little, 3 year old hands - I am overcome with that mix of excitement and jealousy that precedes a sibling.

I'm Home!

Actually, I've been home for a couple of day now, wandering around like a zombie, eating broccoli and popcorn and stale chips(crisps, for my new, better accented friends from across the pond), waking up at 3am and taking midday naps for several hours. I don't know what time zone I am on, because it certainly isn't Thailand time, and it definitely isn't Los Angeles time. My cats seem to be delighted to find me up at the wee hour of 3am though, and relish in coming to nap with me in the middle of the day, so maybe I am on Pacific Standard Feline Time.

Time

Time is a temperamental thing. All at once evanescent and heavy, it is one of those things I will never have control of, though it seems to have control of me. 

This year is one of the most rapid years I can remember: a year filled to the brim with adventures in cooking, camping, sculpting, gardening, and laughing with friends; laughing so loud, in fact, that our neighbor would bang on the wall for us laughing so heartily.

Puffers and Bulbous Noses

It feels like Christmas outside, which is to say that when I open my window my skin tightens up with the chill of standing in front of an open freezer, smells like a distant fireplace and Jasmine, and comes with an unexplainable sense of anticipation. I love this feeling.

When You least Expect It

 I don't know when exactly it happened, but I realized recently that I am extremely happy. Despite not getting into EATM this year, something I was relying so heavily on and working towards for the last 2 years, I am happier than I have ever been.

Pictureless Saturday

No photos today. My Nikon Lens is still in various states of needing to be repaired and I have no clue when that will happen. Going back to a camera phone and my boyfriend's point and shoot feels so wrong.

I usually don't like to post without photos... it's the candy I use to entice people to maybe read. I guess I don't particularly care if people read most of the time anyway, I just hope they like my pictures.

Today though, I just need to vent.

Captain Obvious: Food is Delicious

We have made some delicious meals since we have our own kitchen again; some so delicious I forgot to get the camera out to document them before they were gobbled up.

Nesting

I've been in my own apartment with Ryan for the last 3 months now.  I think most of you know how good it feels to finally have your own place. I am a nester. I love to collect little items that remind me of all the things I have done and places I have been.

Why Hello There

 My dearest bestie peeks out from an old crusty shack in Malibu Canyon

My busy little hands are sore from all the furniture staining and ceramics making and reupholstering I have been doing this past month. So pardon me if this post is all over the place. 

Flies should not be breeding in my Pumpkin

a few of my recent ceramic adventures and glaze experiments

My dear rotting pumpkin. He got more and more sinister as the days went by. This is him at his freshest.

Zig Zag Road

An Aerial shot from my plane window on one of my numerous flights to and from Chicago

  

Sometimes I forget that I have been essentially living out of a suitcase for the past 2 years. It can be liberating realizing that the huge pile of stuff I have in storage is not necessary for my everyday life.

He Wanted Wings Too

an illustration from Leo Lionni's Fish is Fish

As a wee little Nessa, I adored this book. I vividly remember tracing my fingers over the illustrations trying to feel the deceptively rich, chalky textures that were absent on the glossy pages. When I eventually saw the animated version of it, I would watch it over and over. Sitting far too close to the television set, the glow of the images painted my face in a rainbow color as I would watch, rewind, and repeat the ritual over and over.

Like a Slap in the Behind

Woooooweeeeee. My butt has been majorly kicked this month. Sore just thinkin' about it.

For a whirlwind update of some random things I have done in the past 4 weeks: I attended a wedding in Lake Tahoe, parasailed way up on a 1200 ft rope under a skull n' bones parachute, toured around the old west town Virginia City(where our dear friend in the picture up above was spotted, around the corner from a place where I bought some petrified dinosaur poop the color of a rasberry creamsicle), had my car's AC, headlight, and convertible top all go defunct while stuck out in Big Basin Redwood forest (which I macgyvered the shit out of to get the top working again using some duct tape, a piece of string, and a bungee cord - no joke), planted an apricot tree, went on a safari, moved out of one house and into another, made 10 bowls in ceramics class, memorized 60 scientific names for an assortment of animals from their Phylum down to their species, and sang copious amounts of Disney songs(on repeat) on the way to school while simultaneously trying to ignore the check engine light displayed so politely on my dashboard.

Peeps on Pumpkins, Beautiful Decay Pt.1

     One of my biggest inspirations has always been a beautifully decaying object. Paint peeling on doors, vines overtaking an abandoned house... all extremely satisfying to me. There is a bit of rebellion in it, like mother nature is saying "yeah, you tried to beat time, but that just isn't how things work, and you are gonna like it... move on."  

Fish is Fish

     Anyone remember that lovely Leo Lionni book/animation from back in the day? I love fish. I think they are beautiful and alien and magical. You may think I am excluding those ugly carp found in Lake Michigan and other, similarly bleak, species... But don't underestimate how full of awesome a fish can be to make up for a lack of visual charm. 

Corsets with Sneakers - Adventures at the Renaissance Faire

Yes, it is that time of year again... I can't resist a Renaissance Faire.

Semester Over, I love Port and Cheese

I have had a busy week with finals and my brother's 21st birthday(which led to copious amounts of delicious food and a trip to Los Olivos Wine Country).

Kitty paw prints on dirty car windows

Hi, my name is Vanessa, and I love kitties. Even when they look demonic.

Little Worlds Encased In Globes of Glass

     I have always had a love affair with plants. Actually, love affair implies that the plants loved me back... and that would be, sadly, untrue. Not a single plant that I have ever cared for has lasted longer than a few months(and those were ivy and ferns... only gross abuse can kill those.. I still swear it was the space heater that did them in).

My village just got a little bit smaller

I just found out a few days ago that my bestie is moving back to California after moving to DC since we both parted ways with Chicago almost two years ago. This fills me with the greatest joy! Ever since the first day we met in the 9th grade we have been inseparable. She sat behind me in English class. She had blue lipstick on. We both said "here!" when the teacher called roll for "Vanessa". It was all set from there.