narilily

[narilily]

You're exactly right about that, they're not really worth the breath that it takes to correct them, especially since they're not going to listen... or care, for that matter! That makes me so happy to hear, I hope that I'm a super rare color of rose, too! I do. And I like to put it to good use every now and then, which makes my parents happy.

Isn't that always how it goes? The guilty are the ones who are so quick to blame others and we just have to let them get away with it. I like that metaphor. You're a whole rose bush, Nari, in case no one has ever told you. Well, you sort of have that fashion degree and all that, right?

[narilily]

That's actually why I have that reputation, because you're nice enough to spread it around town and make sure that's the only way people refer to me, so thank you! I owe you! It's true, otherwise why be friends? Are you going to be serving up some good stuff at Creek Fest this year? We've been buried in mum and pumpkin prep over at the nursery!

Isn't that already your reputation? Nari the flower goddess? At least that's what I've been telling people about you. Let me know if I'm laying it on too thick, or not thick enough. That's very good of you, real friends hold you accountable for only saying your highest praises, which are the truth.

[narilily]

"I'm more than just a pretty face, Jamie," she said with a wide grin, turning to face her friend. Or maybe she just really knew her flavors and what would taste good. Especially in this case. "i feel like that's one of the best things about fall flavors, is that they all have that yummy pie type taste to them. Although then I do start to crave pie, too." Which was okay, since she could also go to the orchard, pick apples, and bake something herself. First, she had to order her drink, stepping up tot he counter when it was her turn, and ordering the drink, with a little extra whipped topping. Why not?

“Fair enough!” Jamie said with a grin. He was more of an Apple person himself. Or just caramel. Pumpkin sometimes did hit the right way, though. “You know what? I think you are a genius because that sounds really tasty, actually,” he nodded, adjusting the glasses on his face to be able to read the menu more clearly. “It sounds like it would taste like pie… in the best way!”

[narilily]

"All I'm hearing is wah, wah, we're big babies," she tried to say the words without laughing, but definitely failed as she shook her head. But they were both right in that it was different kinds of work. But Nari would do her best to make sure that she didn't poke anyone while she was on the boat. "I know, could you imagine if I wasn't?" she asked without looking up from her work, fingers working nimbly and carefully, "everyone would be walking around here with their clothes falling off of them."

"Cause we get paid to stab people all day, not the other day around," he chuckled. Something like the way that some heavily tattooed people also weren't fond of needles in a medical setting. "Nope," he grinned over at Nari when she teased about him not minding standing there shirtless as she got to work on fixing his shirt. He watched as she worked, not wanting to be too distracting, though he commented, "lucky you're here to fix rips and tears, pro."

[narilily]

Definitely! We'll have a lot out at Creek Fest, too, we always bring a good load with us to sell, or sometimes the hay rides come out our way, too, so people can do their own shopping. True, although I have a feeling they'd probably end up loving it. Mostly relaxing, I did go to the picnic and see some friends. How about you?

Sounds like I've got to stop by to pick up some fall goodies to start decorating the house. Or, my room, at least. I should probably consult the rest of the roommates before coming home with a living room's worth of plants.. How did you enjoy the holiday weekend?

[narilily]

Which brings me to my next question: if you had to be any character from the Wizard of Oz, who do you think you would be? And not Wicked or anything like that, I mean the time and true, original Wizard of Oz? I think so, too! Life is too short to not enjoy the fairytale aesthetic, right?

Maybe, but i like to imagine they're like that lion from Wizard of Oz, eventually they get the courage. And they look fabulous in faux fur. Honestly that would be...impressive. I just think everything should be a little bit fairytale princess, and I don't think that's a crime.

[narilily]

"And you won't tell a soul," she said without missing a beat, holding up her needle, "or I'll stick ya." Alright, she wouldn't actually dream of hurting a friend with her sewing needle, but she could threaten Greyson for a good time. "That's true, I won't argue that one. Not that it doesn't hurt a little bit, but it's a good, artistic kind of hurt, right?" That was the excuse she was going for as she finished one sleeve and reached for the other, carefully adjusting it over his wrist to make sure that she got them even.

"Oh, that's because they don't know you. I, for one, know just how evil you're capable of being and know to keep far, far away from you," Grey teased. He knew better than to poke fun of the person with a needle so close to his person, but Nari was, at the end of the day, actually trustworthy. "It is different, though, because the tattoo needle doesn't go that deep, it's a different sensation, different pain- but that needle in your hand would feel the worst of all."

[narilily]

"Of course! They're probably still tucked away in storage safely." Nari had boxes in the back of her house that she hadn't gone through in years that she knew her parents had kept in the house, that would have been tossed out, had she not bought it back years later. There were treasures in there, because parents never got rid of things, for better or for worse. "This," she answered with a gesture down at her dress, a bright smile on her face, "and I dressed my friend Mariah for the event, too. Other than that, a homecoming dress for a friend's daughter, and I've started taking prom orders, early as it is for that." Although she was pretty sure that most teenaged girls thought never was too early. "I've been busy!" Reaching for the scissors, she snipped the thread she was working with and sat back to see if it needed more work.

"My mother was supportive in the attempt." She laughed lightly. Jo remembered the pattern and everything - hello kitty leopard print. They had a whole field trip to retrieve and purchase the pattern of their choice. Since then, Jo hadn't thought about taking up sowing anything. It became more fun to run into fires and help people in other ways. She admired the work of fellow designers and supported them in purchasing the clothing that she loved. "Your patience and talent is truly admirable." She knew that it took skill and focus over time. "So, have you created anything recently?"

[narilily]

"Just tell them that the grandpa style is in right now," she said with a bright smile. Although she was mostly kidding, there was some truth to it, sometimes those old, vintage styles ended up coming back around, which meant that Oliver might actually be dressing way more snazzy than what his students gave him credit for. Eventually, those kids would look back on their teacher's fashion and realize that it had been ahead of its time, that they had really missed out on some good compliments. "As an educator, I can see why," Nari smiled as she looked up at Oliver from where she was stitching carefully. "Oh, I'll happily take it, especially the poems. Not sure I've ever had someone write a poem about me, actually!" Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a tiny pair of scissors and cut the thread, sitting back. "How's that feel? More secure?"

“Then I will have to come to you for fashion advice whenever my students tell me I dress like a grandpa,” Oliver grinned. He was half-joking. Middle school kids could be brutally honest. He had never been on top of trends or fashion and usually his sister had to steer him in the right direction before he made a fashion faux pas. Thankfully, he had been doing much better than when he was in his twenties. “Anything that helps with education-related topics is high on my list,” he nodded in agreement. As a teacher, he believed learning never stopped. “Then let me be the first!” He said with a laugh. “I’ll make you one of those button pin things and have my students write poems.”

[narilily]

"I'm versatile," Nari replied with a bright smile, "I like both. I tend to go apple pie, pumpkin drink, but... I've been known to do both." Honestly, what mattered was it tasted like a happy fall in a cup, and Nari loved that. As they glanced over the menu together, she let out a 'hmm', eyes darting over each option before pointing, "think I'm going to go with the brown sugar apple cinnamon latte. Which sounds like a mouthful and also heaven."

“I can’t remember if you said you were a pumpkin spice person or apple cider,” Jamie smiled at Nari, rocking on his heels with a hum. “Or both. Or neither,” he looked over at the menu. Cobblestone was typically on it with the trends. He had invited Nari to grab coffee with him before they go find what they could for some fall (and Halloween?) decorations.

[narilily]

And then make us out to be the bad ones when we're really not all that interested in maintaining friendships with people who can barely give us the time of day! People are goofy. But they'll never change, we just learn to stick to people that feel like live flowers, that's all there is to it. Exactly! And you know me, I am all about putting together a good outfit. And mixing-and-matching to make it happen.

It's always frustrating to see people get into relationships and then let go of friendships...only to come crawling back to the moment those go bad. And you can't bring back a dead flower, right? There's beauty in having not just something to wear but an outfit.

[narilily]

That's actually the exact kind of reputation that I want around town, nothing else will do! I'll feel cheated if people don't refer to me as the goddess that's doing all of the grocery shopping. That's true, I'd pick up on it, side eye you, and then remind you that I know you a little too well to let you get away with saying something untrue.

No one would question it, when a goddess stops into the grocery store or picks up late night takeout, they'd just say "oh, that's Nari and she's beautiful." I would never lie to you because I know you are receptive to the truth and that I don't have anything negative to say about you.

[narilily]

Tell me about it! Although I feel like once the gala ended, we pretty much hit the ground running at the nursery with starting to get ready for fall, putting out mums, switching to late blooming flowers, so it's been busy. That's pretty much been the entirety of my past two weeks. Although no weekend plans! Other than probably hitting up the Labor Day picnic in town. Thank you!

I cannot believe it has already been nearly two weeks since the gala and we have not had a chance to debrief and catch up. Is it just me, or has everything felt much more hectic as we get closer to summer ending? Do you have any fun plans for this upcoming weekend? Happy belated birthday, by the way.

[narilily]

"And that would ruin the whole look," she said with a laugh, knowing that he needed the jellyfish piece to... well, look like a jellyfish. Which he had pulled off pretty well. Gripping the strings, Nari pulled quickly and as tightly as she could, making sure that everything was secure and where it needed to be, walking around the outfit to inspect both sides, adjusting here and there, fixing the tendrils where she could, before stopping in front of Harley again. "Does that feel better?"

Harley appreciated that Nari came back to stand in front of them before she started working. They couldn't really see her well enough to read her lips when she was at their side, and big events like this required some lipreading. "I could get it if I didn't have the jellyfish piece on! But yeah, I'm ready when you are."

[narilily]

"Ow, ow!" Nari cat called at Jasmine's pose, bringing her fingers up to her mouth to do a wolf whistle and then a clap, "beautiful." Everyone had put in so much work with the gala, pulled out all the stops, she never stopped being impressed with the outfits that she saw. "Thank you, thank you," she did a little shimmy in her iridescent, bright, shiny dress, before beaming. "How about you surprise me?"

Jasmine shrugged her jacket off her shoulders and wore it low on her arms and struck a pose before she cracked a small smile. "And you're stunning as always - which is why you need to be doing some mingling other than what you're doing and whatever is your poison of choice is on me."

[narilily]

"Between you and Greyson, I feel like I have had to warn all the men who work with needles to watch out for the one I'm using," she let out a laugh, taking the shirt from him and dropping down to sit, carefully turning it so that she had access to the pieces that needed stitched back together. "Thankfully for you, this isn't too much of a job, so you won't have to stand there shirtless very long. Not that you mind, of course," Nari teased with a smile, working quickly but carefully to make his shirt like new.

"No running off shirtless, got it." More so, he didn't want to hear about it later if he did. He also wasn't going to risk a disappointed look from Nari after having been troubled with fixing his shirt. "Yeah, let's avoid stabbing me," he laughed. Even small sewing needles could hurt. With that said, Alec proceeded to unbutton his shirt and take it off, handing it to Nari. "Thank you!"

[narilily]

That's true! But this world is a little too full of cowards, you can't ever really get away from them, you know? Does that mean that any given day that I run into you, I should make it a game to see if I can find where you've hidden your tulle in your outfit?

Crop tops are eternal if you're not a coward, it's just about knowing what crop top is most appropriate when. Once you know that, you're set. You'd be surprised and alarmed about the places I just have...tulle hidden away wherever I can fit it.