“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” Wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Like I always say, I love a gift equally no matter if it’s a Chanel or a seashell. They’re all exquisite treasures and all appreciated.
Either one…
Here’s the story…
I found an adorable pair of Chanel CC logo earrings on Amazon, not real, but “replica” and so sparkly that I purchased them. I don’t normally go for fake anything but these looked a lot like my real Chanel logo necklace, and I thought what the heck, I’ll just return them if they’re not great, plus I lose earrings so often that I’d be totally freaked out if I lost one that cost hundreds of dollars.
The delivery tracking number wasn’t working so I messaged the seller. She immediately responded, said things were unfortunately delayed and she was very sorry, issued a refund, and told me if they did arrive, keep them as a gift from her.
Well…two days late — today — they DID arrive and they are even more sweet than I had imagined.
What would you do?
Here’s what I did: I emailed the seller, told her I received them, and asked her to either give me an address so I could send a check OR re-charge my card.
Again, she responded promptly:
I am very sorry for the delay of the package, So you don’t have to pay, you can keep it, thanks. GOOD DAY,
Here they are. I never expected to receive such an awesome gift, but I feel much better about keeping the earrings knowing that I offered to pay and she still wants me to keep them!
The earrings look perfect with my (real) Chanel necklace.
Would you have tried to pay or would you have not bothered to make the effort based on the first email?
Of course this wasn’t a life altering moral dilemma, just one of those medium-sized quandaries that pop up in our lives on a daily basis to test our character.
…would smell as sweet.
First Robert Burns, and now Shakespeare?
During this Covid-19 pandemic, I seem to be living in an alternate universe of poetry and literature. Pretty soon, my brain will start to spontaneously remember all my years of French, and I’ll be ready for my trip to France to pay homage to the one and only Coco Chanel.
Once upon a time, in another lifetime, I memorized Juliet’s lines, Act 2, Scene 2, for an audition.
Nope, I didn’t win the role that time, but the words have never left me.
It’s a bit of a cliche considering my name, but a rose is a rose is a rose, according to Gertrude Stein.
JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
I know other parts of the country are freezing, buried under a mountain of snow, but here in SoCal, it was about seventy-five degrees and sunny (don’t hate).
It was the perfect day for a hike in the back country to inhale sandy, dirty trails and think about setting positive intentions for 2018.
We drove for a couple of hours (to a secret spot) and started walking. As the sun rose to its celestial meridian, I started shedding layers.
Does this look like it could be a Native American bedrock metate?
Beautiful fruiting manzanita; well, I think it’s manzanita…
We know it’s a going to be a great day when the trails are heavily strewn with coyote scat!
And this remnant of a coyote or bobcat’s meal. Upon close inspection, it looks like part of a tail but I’m not too sure how it ended up perched on the dried grass.
Steep and rocky.
Stopping for a snack and water, the perfect time to touch up dry lips with a little Chanel. I’m always prepared!
Who says leaves don’t change color in Southern California?
There’s really nothing more soul satisfying than exerting oneself physically until you’re bone tired and then eating a huge late lunch (with french fries) and feeling zero guilt about the amount of calories consumed!
#gratitude #nature #hiking #backcountry
It’s been a DAY. Taking a deep breath. Home now, feet up, having a cuppa.
I had an especially joyous afternoon!
Let me tell you all about it.
OK. Last week I felt like crap. I had a viral lung infection (thank you for your potent little germs, Angel Boy 2.0!) that was quickly turning to pneumonia and on top of that bad news, I had laryngitis. I mean 100% no voice. I couldn’t even squeak out a whisper. I was forced to endure a vow of silence for about 72 hours.
Now I’m almost all recovered, enough to get back to the gym and back to my real sport of choice…SHOPPING!
Yup, Retail therapy is a THING, y’all. It’s therapeutic; self care and all that new agey mindset.
I planned my day with laser precision, flexed my shopping muscles, said a mantra for extra patience, and first ran errand or two for my absentmindedprofessor son who forgot to take care of something important before he/family left for the UK, so that was number one.
Mission accomplished. (As an aside, I don’t care how old they are, it warms a mommy heart to be able to solve a problem for her child. To feel needed. SIGH.)
As soon as I got that out of the way (visualize the chaos of a post office a few days before Christmas ‘cos that’s where I was) I confess that I got a little tingle in my root chakra area (heehee) as I sped off to the Forum in Carlsbad.
Yes, a real physical reaction, like salivating over chocolate, to see what the world had to offer for purchase!
Breathe, girl. Breathe, I said to myself. Pace yourself.
Find a place to park. Universe, open up the best spot for Princess Rosebud. And then it happened. Someone pulled out of the perfect location at the exact moment I was rounding the corner. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A quick check of my hair and lipstick, and I was off, gleam in my eye, rapid heartbeat; I bet my pupils were dilated just a bit, too.
Even though Angel Boy 2.0 already got his gifts, I can’t walk by Gepettos without popping in and getting something. Looky at this. A growing owl. Grow Owl: An owl will emerge from a tree stump. Just put the tree stump in a container, cover with water and after 12 to 24 hours, the critter will begin to emerge as the water is absorbed! Can’t wait to send it for a New Year’s Day prezzy. Just a little something cute and fun. Theo LOVES owls, so this will be something fun for the Angel Boys to work on together.
My inner GPS guided me to H&M, where I picked up some SUPER ADORABLE clothes for Mr. T. They were on sale!!!!! A total score. Three dollars for the striped shirt and seven dollars each for the sweatshirt and distressed jeans with suspenders. I cannot even imagine how precious he’s going to look. Such a little boy. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Across the parking lot was my HOLY GRAIL…Anthropologie. I get it. It’s overpriced but their marketing and store decor is so amazing, you gotta appreciate their attention to detail.
Here I was, back with my tribe, my people. My PEOPLE. All Christmas-y. The mall was crowded and so was Anthro.
We were all rotating in our own little worlds of conspicuous consumption- women on a mission with a very few brave men who dared to cross the threshold, and omg they all looked the same: scared, dazed, deer in the headlights. trudging around and around not able to locate the door to exit the hell they were trapped in. I almost felt sorry for them. ALMOST. No eye contact cos I didn’t want them to plead with me for assistance. Not my problem.
The checkout line snaked around the store. I was looking for something for myself. I had a “secret Santa” who gave me a little cash and I wanted to spoil myself because I’ve been a VERY good girl this year. I found this beautiful pierced tin candle. The scent is Mahogany Amber and it’s filling my bedroom with love and joy. 30% OFF! The bag and wrapping paper adds so much to the shopping experience. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I forgot to tell you that I went to Macy’s yesterday at Carlsbad’s other (newly refurbished) mall and bought myself an extravagant Chanel lipstick. I know it was forty dollars and I could have purchased at least three or four others for that same price, but CHANEL. Plus lots of samples, so a good deal, right? Rouge Coco Etienne #446 LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I had a follow up doc appointment to see if I needed an x-ray (I don’t, yay!) and their office is across the street from a hospice resale shop, so I stopped in for a minute. Christmas decor was on sale, so I picked up this adorable vintage bunny ornament for one dollar! ONE EFFING DOLLAR! LOVE LOVE LOVE.
When I got home, I found a box at the front door!!! Nestled inside was a wrapped gift from my wonderful son and DIL. I can’t wait to open it!
All in all, a wonderful, stupendous. amazing, joyfilled day! Maybe it doesn’t work for everyone, but for me, retail therapy can turn my frown upside down, no matter what.
Love and joy to all!
Look, a BEACH BUNNY! I saw this adorable creature today at Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad.
There are normally a billion ground squirrels that live on the bluffs, but I rarely see a rabbit, so this was a special event for sure.
Last week the temperature here was 105 degrees; today it was drizzly and in the low 60s, so I decided to take a little walk to the beach. I went the long way ’round and ended up walking about nine miles.
It’s pretty much downhill to the ocean-super easy- but that means it’s all uphill on the way home, so I’m pleasantly tired.
When I got home, I checked for mail and looky here what I found!!! A sample of Chanel’s new fragrance, Garbrielle, accompanied by the most amazing affirmation…just what I needed right about now.
DAMN RIGHT, COCO. You got that right, GURRL.
After enduring the shittiest of all shitshows of shitty years, swimming my way up and out and slowly being pieced back together, reforming and rising from the ashes of despair and pain, THIS IS A SIGN.
As I tapped out the letters that spell “despair”, I wanted to make sure it conveyed exactly how I felt so looked up the definition and nodded my head in silent agreement, “the complete loss or absence of hope”. YUP. Nuff said.
The little perfumed card is propped up on my bedside table, and wonder of all wonders, there are two owls hooting to each other in my backyard.
Life is GOOD, y’all. Life is GOOD.
(Blogging from the train, which is OK except for spotty wifi and my paragraph edits aren’t working, so this post won’t look exactly right.)
“It’s never too late to become empowered” she said.
STOP SCRUNCHIE SHAMING!
I’ve had just about enough of this abuse.
I confess.
I’m here to out myself. but I’m still hiding behind dark shades (Chanel, of course).
I’m an addict.
I’ve tried to change.
I really have.
Not a day goes by that I don’t wish and hope and pray that I could be strong enough to resist temptation, but I’m weak.
I NEED it to tame my mane.
I mean, LOOK at me, would ya? My hair has a mind of its own.
When I was growing up in pink toe shoes and tutus and my hair was properly braided and beribboned every morning, how could I possibly foresee what the future would bring?
There was no crystal ball to warn me of the impending appearance of those colorful fabric-wrapped elastic bands that would be my crack.
I lack strength; I’m powerless.
(This is tougher than I thought it would be.)
I won’t — I can’t– hide my addiction one more minute.
The truth is that I wear a SCRUNCHIE every. single. day.
I can’t get through the day without one. Or two.
AND YES, I WEAR IT ON MY WRIST LIKE A BRACELET.
Just to keep it close and handy.
In fact, I have one on my wrist right now, AS I’M TYPING THIS POST.
Don’t even THINK about trying to wrestle it away from me.
Red or blue or purple; I carry extras in my handbags JUST IN CASE I LOSE ONE.
Us girls with SUPER curly and thick hair need a big fattie scrunchie to tame our wild beasty locks.
You know what?
I’ve had friends who’ve staged spontaneous interventions to help me confront my love for the scrunchie.
I’ve had friends pull them out of my hand and toss them in the trash.
Friends have gifted me all sorts of other hair bands and a variety of products to secure my crazy hair.
I’ve been bribed with lunch and unlimited wine if I don’t show up wearing a scrunchie.
“It ruins your outfit” they say.
“You look like a reject from the nineties”, they say.
Apparently, it’s embarrassing to be seen with a scrunchie-wearer.
I. DON’T. CARE. WHAT. ANYONE. THINKS.
I LOVE my scrunchies.
HAHAHA…the dreaded SIDE SCRUNCHIE!
No other form of securing my tresses will satisfy me:
I feel so much better having confessed my secret addiction.
It’s a huge load off my chest. I feel light and free.
So deal with it, world.
From this day forward, I’m out, I’m loud, and I’m a PROUD scrunchie-wearer!
My stash.
Just be glad it’s not a banana clip. Hee hee.
“All right, all right, all right!”
Time to shake it off; ENOUGH of the stroll down memory lane.
This empty nest mom needs a little therapy.
And SUH-NAP. *snapping fingers*, just like THAT, back to what makes me tick, what gets me all excited.
And I don’t mean tugboat man…he’s still chugging and tugging toward that remote destination…
I’m talking about RETAIL therapy.
SHOPPING!
I’ve been on a roll lately, finding lots of amazing treasures, can’t wait to share them with you!
Everything from Vitamin C cream, trendy little t-shirts from Ross Dress for Less, and that elusive black pump.
And a sparkly bracelet and seashells, too!
It’s not always about thousand dollar Chanel shoes; I get just as excited for a $6.99 shirt!
For the gym with a sports bra; LOVE the message!
We should always do more of what makes us happy, right?
Also from Ross, Vintage Paris tee with red sparkles. I paired it with white skinny jeans and a cherry red cashmere/silk sweater.
Minus a weirdly shiny face, this is now one of my fave outfits.
A couple miles down the road, I stopped at Marshall’s and loaded up on my FAVE Vitamin C cream by Dead Sea Minerals from Israel. (Make a note: if you can find it, stock up. It’s GREAT.)
Like a magpie, I was attracted to the shine and sparkle of this adorable little bracelet at White House, Black Market. How could I resist?
Since things were going so well, it was time to drive down the 78 to Nordstrom Rack where there are more shoes than anywhere else I’ve shopped. This pair doesn’t hold the same magic as those Chanels, but with an on sale price point of $49.00, they’ll do for a while until the even more perfect shoe appears.
They’re not vegan, which gave me pause — I obviously had a weak moment — which is why I titled this post, “Imperfectly Perfect”.
It’s a constant struggle to follow a cruelty-free life. Some things are easier than others.
Finally, I stopped at my favorite enchanted garden shop, PlantPlay Nursery, came away with a couple kangaroo plants, a butterfly bush, and how could I NOT bring home this AMAZING seashell wreath?
Now if I only could figure out where to hang it…
What makes YOU happy today?
How are YOU perfectly imperfect or even imperfectly perfect?
What could be better than marrying my love for shoe shopping with a little craftiness?
I found these cute Toms wedges on sale at Nordstrom Rack.
The FIRST thing I did was to remove the Toms label from the heel area of the shoe.
Unless it says Chanel or Dior or Versace or even Kate Spade, I’m not doing any free advertising for anyone.
Plus, to me, TOMS label/logo is ugly. A whole lotta negative valence happening, if you understand those types of dynamics. (I’m aware he does good things with the One for One giving back campaign.)
I studied the shoes for a while, pondering the shape and colors and textures and found them to be a bit lacking in style.
Hmmm, what could I do to jazz ’em up a bit?
Pearls didn’t seem right, nor did seashells, but then I remembered I had a container of wooden beads — natural, organic, and elemental.
Almost everything can be improved upon, right?
PERFECT!
It was so easy, you MUST try this! My tugboat man thought I bought them this way.
All I did was string three beads and relace the wedges.
Why three beads? Because that’s how many fit the space. Two wasn’t enough, and four was too much. Three beads were just right.
Love!
Too easy, right? And that simple embellishment totally transformed rather bland shoes into fashion-forward and UNIQUE animal print wedges. They’ll totally rock with skinny jeans and a flowy, gauzy top, don’t you agree?
See?
PERFECTION!
Right now, I’m going to go crazy with my other lace up shoes and garnish them with jewels, pearls, and beads. I get all obsessed that way…
I’m a happy girl.
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud 