Office Flowers are Always Open

T-Shirt & Jeans, Amazon

LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Betsey Johnson, Macy's

This post is about flowers and fruits and veggies and purses (see above carrot barrettes and veggie sweater.  For the record, fashion is the only way I let peas infiltrate my life).  It's also about my home office (a.k.a. the cactus room) where I write these posts, online shop, and pay bills with stamps like an old lady.  But you already knew that, right down to the stamps. 

Flowers make great metaphors.  Especially roses.  As in, "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and "Every Rose Has its Thorn".  Even this week's episode of "The Unicorn" (a sitcom about a widower named Wade [Walton Goggins] that I once watched ironically but now genuinely like) had a game called rose and thorn in it.  In an effort to help Wade's seventh-grader daughter Grace open up, his friends Delia (Michaela Watkins) and Michelle (Maya Lynne Robinson) suggest this exercise in which each person shares one good thing that happened that week -- that's the rose -- and one bad thing -- yes, that's the thorn.  And although it didn't ultimately work out -- Delia and Michelle had to reminisce about their own middle school misadventures before Grace finally spilled about her boy troubles -- I found the idea appealing.  So here are some of my roses and thorns from this week.


Roses:

I sold two brooches, one to someone in Arkansas and one to someone in Pennsylvania.

I got a box of free stuff from Kohl's.  No, they haven't decided to reward me for all the blogging I do about their products.  The loot was gratis because I had a "big fat check" from Rakuten and opted to upgrade it to a Kohl's gift card.  Which means it technically wasn't free because I had to spend a lot to get the cashback.  But it made me happy.  So, rose it is.

Thorns:

"This is Us" wasn't on.

My left thumbnail tore below the quick.  Ouch!


Playing rose and thorn is a good way to get stuff off your chest.  Or, even if you play it alone, a way to remain grateful.  For me, it comes in handy when life hands me something more seemingly insurmountable than a week without Jack Pearson's wisdom.  It reminds me to stay positive.  And open to the good stuff.

Like roses.  And '80s hair bands.  

Ahoy! Ship Shapes Sail into Summer

 Fabulous Felt Yellow Anchor Necklace

Tee: Merona, Target

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Cardigan: DKNY, Macy's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

 Fabulous Felt Black Anchor Necklace

Tee: Merona. Target

Skirt: H&M

Cardigan: Modcloth

Shoes: Nine West, DSW

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Sunglasses: Cloud Nine, Ocean City

Belt: Marshalls

Fabulous Felt Beach Day Necklace

Tee: Merona, Target

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Cardigan: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Shoes: Not Rated, DSW

Bag: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Cloud Nine, Ocean City 

Or maybe I should say "out of summer."  Every year, without fail, I'm surprised by the supernova that is August.  The season seems to culminate in this third, fireball of a month -- the temperature is at its highest (despite the slightly darker days), and most people wait until then to go on vacation.  Then poof!  It's time for backpacks and pumpkin spice everything. (My Spidey senses tell me that I've used this bit about pumpkins in past anti-fall rants, but then what's a post about seasonal repetition without some recycled wordplay?).  It's as if people know that they have to squeeze out the last drop, and as part of those "people," I'm no different.  Except that I'm scrambling to post the rest of my warm weather favorites and backlog of fun-in-the-sun pictures instead of getting in that last round of beach time.  I'm none too optimistic that I'll have trotted them all out by Labor Day, so watch this spot for ice cream and mermaids well into October.  Nobody likes fall anyway, right?

So that's what's up with this beach scene and anchors, all three of which have been treading water in the kiddie pool of my imagination since April.  I was tempted to call at least one of the anchors the Nautical Nonsense Necklace but decided not to for fear of angering the SpongeBob people.  "Boat stuff," though, as I like to think of it, has always been pretty eye-catching.  My favorite type of boat used to be the sailboat on account of its bright, festive, well, sail.  I was so taken with sailboats that I thought I might like to climb aboard one one day.  Then I found out that they're among the most dangerous of the watercraft, what with being whipped about the sea willy-nilly due to that deceptively carefree, nothing-but-a-good-time sail.  

Somehow, I don't think that's what Poison (or the SpongeBob people) had in mind.

Movie Moment: Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is about rock and roll and the people who love it.  Set in 1987 in an LA bar called the Bourbon Room, its inked and studded players laugh, cry, and dream to the likes of Journey, Styx, Guns N' Roses, Poison, Motley Crue, REO Speedwagon, and so many big-haired others.  Although the movie highlights the seamier side of the era of excess, it is, at its heart, a universal yarn about falling in love and following your dreams.

Sherri (Julianne Hough) is the proverbial good girl who longs to make it big.  To be sure, when the movie opens she is literally "just a small-town girl living in a lonely world on a midnight train going anywhere."  Once on the Sunset Strip, her sundress and sunny disposition set her apart, and her prized suitcase full of albums is stolen almost as soon as she steps off the train.  That's when Drew (Diego Boneta) comes to the rescue.  A barback at the Bourbon, he gets her a job there waiting tables, much to the annoyance of crusty owner Dennis (Alec Baldwin).  She's a singer, he's a singer, and it isn't long before they're making goo-goo eyes in between serving drinks.  Meanwhile, Dennis and his right-hand man and very special friend Lonny (Russell Brand) book larger-than-life and out-of-control rock god Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) to rescue the Bourbon from bankruptcy.  But Stacee comes with baggage in the form of his conniving manager Paul (Paul Giamatti), idealistic Rolling Stone reporter Constance (Malin Akerman), and the mayor's wife Patty (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who will stop at nothing to expunge him and his ilk from her fair city.  Inevitably, Sherri and Drew are mixed up in the maelstrom and eventually forced to find out what achieving fame really means.

Rock of Ages balances the badass with the sentimental and even the silly, often laughing at its own overblown homage to 1980s extravagance.  The fashion is fabulous, from Patty's prissy pastels to Stacee's most libidinous leather, and the pop culture references keep the camp coming.  But it is, of course, the nonstop rock of power ballads and arena anthems that make you feel as if you're at the concert of the decade.

Movie Moment: Plunging into Hot Tub Time Machine

For some reason, I'd been wanting to rent Hot Tub Time Machine. (But then, you probably already knew that if you've been reading.) I choose to blame my impulse on my love of 1980s music (Poison, ironically, excepted despite their portrayal in this movie), 1980s fashion, and stupid comedies of all decades. So, a few nights ago I got it On Demand, my decision half-heartedly sanctioned by the bf, who didn't want to see it but didn't feel compelled to see anything else either. True to form, Hot Tub Time Machine offered up a parade of neon ski wear, legwarmers, and lurid animal prints set to music by INXS, David Bowie, New Order, Talking Heads, and others, all of which I enjoyed. Even so, I was slightly disappointed by this tale of three middle-aged guys (and one twentysomething kid) who revisit the 1980s via a portal channeled by a -- yes -- hot tub. To be honest, I think I was hooked more by the whole wacky hot tub concept than by the big hair and Men Without Hats. There's just something about four drunk guys in a Jacuzzi playing a vital role in the space-time continuum theory . . .

Don't get me wrong. It was funny. Just not as funny as I'd hoped. (I don't blame the movie for this, as the fault lies with my own destructively high expectations.) To me, all the high points featured Nick (The Office's Craig Robinson), a rock star-turned dog groomer who gets pushed around by his wife. I don't think I'm alone in saying that he claims the movie's most memorable line when he utters, in a deeply serious and somewhat befuddled voice just after the time travel kicks in, "It must've been some kind of . . . hot tub time machine," then looks straight at the camera, deadpan. Nick also brings the added bonus of his black tee screen printed with neon pink, yellow, and green combs and -- wait for it -- that staple of all 1980s stylists, hair picks.

I think that about sums up my thoughts.

In other news, I put the finishing touches on my Large Terrific Turtle Tote tonight. I'm doing this new thing where I haul my painting board (built by none other than the bf, designed for an optimum creative and ergonomic working experience) out into the hallway where we have the best light so I can expose and then touch up all the imperfections. Because there are always imperfections, even after the second coat and the outlining have been completed. I hope to have the tote ironed, posted on Etsy, and blogged about here by tomorrow night. Then it will be on to my next project, the Large Beauty Queen Tote, in which lipsticks and hair dryers will do battle with combs and compacts. I'm particularly looking forward to that one.