#Literally have to buy a whole new piece of furniture to display this

[tombofmemories]

Am I really going to drop almost $500 on a Lego set?

Abso-fucking-lutely.

[xfirepilot]

title: pumpkin spice and everything nice (ao3)

summary: when kyle suggests pumpkin picking and couple pumpkin carving contests, things get competitive 

author’s note: thanks to @haloud for the fic title :)

“Do you think this one is okay?” Isobel asked Gregory, picking up a pumpkin from the ground. Gregory raised an eyebrow at the question, looking at the seemingly normal looking pumpkin, before looking beyond Isobel to see his younger brother and Michael in their own little world.

Michael had his arm around Alex, while using his other arm to try and get the beanie to stay atop his own head. Greg could hear Alex’s laughter as the curls made it impossible before Michael instead placed the beanie on Alex’s head.

Watching as Alex turned to look at Michael with a grin, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Isobel.

“They’re sickenly cute aren’t they?” She asked, before she pushed the pumpkin she chose into Gregory’s arms and he took it without complaint.

He could only shake his head softly before looking at his girlfriend.

“Just haven’t seen my brother this happy in a long time.” The statement was relatively true. Alex had been happy with Forrest Long a few months ago, but they broke up amicably when Forrest realized his time in Roswell writing his book was up and he left the town looking for a new muse.

Now though, Alex was so happy that his older brother didn’t know what to make of it.

“Well let’s go get the lovebirds. My feet are killing me.” The expensive boots she was wearing were not ones you’d wear to a pumpkin patch, but the glare Isobel gave him when he suggested different attire made that attempt pointless.

“Where are the rest of the gang anyway?” He asked, noting that Max, Isobel, Rosa, Maria and Kyle were nowhere to be seen in the huge field of pumpkins they were currently in.

“Gift shop,” she stated, before pulling Gregory along to where the two men were.

“Michael, I’m not that cold,” They could hear Alex say as they watched Michael zip up Alex’s hoodie. It was only 50 degrees out, but there was a strong wind coming in that day and Alex kept getting the chills as they walked through the pumpkin patch.

“You keep telling yourself that, because I can feel you shivering.” He pulled Alex into his arms and kissed him on the forehead, before making his way down his face, kissing his nose and each cheek before finally getting to his lips.

“Okay, break it up.” Isobel said, a smirk appearing on her face as they broke apart. Michael looked affronted, while Alex just shook his head.

“Did you two choose your pumpkin?” She asked, before taking notice of the huge pumpkin on the ground beside them.

Michael picked it up, “Yep. We are going to kick everyone’s ass at this couple’s pumpkin carving contest.”

“Yeah, yeah sure. You haven’t seen what Rosa can do when she gets creative with her art. We’re definitely going to lose to her and Maria.” She saw what Rosa could do the few times she visited her in rehab and she was impressed.

Also incredibly disappointed that she was also going to lose this contest.

“We’ll see about that,” Michael muttered, grabbing Alex by the hand and walking towards the gift shop and cafe that the farm had. They could faintly hear Alex ask if they had hot chocolate and Michael hurriedly agreed to buying him one.

“We’re really going to lose aren’t we?” Greg asked, turning towards Isobel.

“Afraid so sweetie,” and gave him a peck on the lips.

------

“Kyle, she’s cheating!” Michael exclaimed a few hours later at Alex’s house. His entire living room had the furniture and his guitar case moved to one side so they could put newspapers down on the floor as they carved their pumpkins. Kyle came up with the idea about a month prior, after everything with Mr. Jones ended, the alien no longer in the picture. Alex suggested his house as it wasn’t as far out of the middle of town as Max’s or as clean and pristine as Isobel’s. The idea of having pumpkin all over Isobel’s floors or table nearly gave her a heart attack. She readily agreed to Alex’s house and the date was set.

Kyle was the only one standing as he walked around to see how everyone was doing. Isobel and Gregory were doing terribly, as their design they were carving came out more deformed than they expected. Kyle could barely contain the grin that appeared on his face while Isobel gave a long sigh as she sat next to Gregory as he tried and failed to make it look presentable.

Max and Liz were doing a bit better, but Michael’s note about Liz cheating did hold true as she tried to ask Max to use his powers to mess up everyone else’s pumpkins.

No matter how much he wanted to win this contest with their giant pumpkin literally referred to as the “Big Max,” by the people at the farm, Max himself declined that suggestion, not ready for Michael to yell at him. Their relationship was getting better and not even a pumpkin carving contest was going to ruin it, no matter how childish the fight would be.

“Michael, calm down,” Alex suggested calmly, grasping Michael’s hand gently and Michael’s grip on his knife loosened as he finished carving. He looked proudly at his work before Alex gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great babe.”

“Not as great as us though!” Rosa exclaimed, turning her pumpkin around to show everyone.

Their mouths dropped open as they examined her carving and Kyle let out a laugh.

“Michael, we totally lost.” Alex stated, looking down at their own pumpkin.

Rosa’s E.T. carved masterpiece was on another level and Maria smirked beside her, proud of how talented her girlfriend was.

“That’s my girl,” she stated, giving Rosa a quick kiss before looking up with a raised eyebrow at Kyle for the results.

“Well, let’s start with last place. In last place, we have...Isobel and Gregory,” Isobel pouted, before noting that Gregory was still trying to fix the carving, “We lost sweetie.” The older man grumbled, dropping the knife. Isobel could hear Rosa laugh in the background as she looked at their pumpkin.

Kyle took a step towards Liz and Max next, “In third place, we have Max and Liz. Not bad, but not great.” Max and Liz both sighed, and Kyle noted that Liz turned to glare at her boyfriend. Kyle could see that Liz would never grow out of her competitive nature. Michael snorted, “Guess Big Max was no match for Little Max’s carving skills.”

Taking a step towards Alex and Michael, Kyle spoke, “In second place, we have Michael and Alex. Great job gentlemen, but well...you know.” He could only gesture towards Rosa’s alien inspired carving to show them why they didn’t win.

“In first place and receiving a $50 gift card to the new incredibly expensive Italian restaurant in town...Rosa and Maria,” He handed them the gift card and Rosa held it proudly while Maria laughed at the sad reactions from everyone.

“Come on guys,” she got up and grabbed Rosa’s hand and waited for her girlfriend to pick up the pumpkin. “Let’s put the lights inside them and put them on display outside.”

As everyone got up and did just that, Kyle was left alone to start cleaning up everything. After watching him nearly slipping on the newspapers, Michael let out a laugh, “Think fast Valenti,” the words came out of his mouth as a beer came floating towards the doctor.

As he got stable standing on his own two feet and grabbed the beer, he looked at the curly haired alien who was dating his best friend.

“Thanks,” he opened the bottle and took a swig.

“Thanks for this idea man,” Michael looked from Kyle to the front door where Alex was coming in with Maria and Rosa, laughing along to something they were saying. “We all really needed this, but especially Alex. This level of normalcy, we never had it before.” He played with the beer bottle in his own hand before he continued, “Now that we’re officially dating, just hanging out with friends is nice. Before it was always a secret and no one really knew and we never had a real definition to what we were.”

Kyle looked at Michael, seeing a whole new side to the mechanic he never saw before and never expected to, before shrugging. “Not a problem Guerin.”

“Hey, what’s up with you two?” A new voice joined the conversation, and both turned to see Alex standing next to Michael.

Michael shook his head, before grabbing Alex’s hand. “Nothing to worry about. Just thanking the good doctor over here.”

Alex looked between the two of them, before shrugging. Kissing Michael on the cheek, Alex let go of Michael’s hand and set off towards the rest of the mess that was being cleaned up in the living room.

“So….we’re watching E.T. right?” Rosa asked 10 minutes later, as she planted herself on the couch that has now moved back to its original spot.

“I think I have the DVD,” Alex muttered, going through his extensive movie collection. Michael could only laugh as his nerdy boyfriend started pulling out his DVDs.

“Ah ha!” Alex exclaimed, pulling the movie out and Michael used his telekinesis to open the DVD player for Alex to put the movie in.

Each couple took a spot in the living room and as Alex got up to sit next to Michael on the couch, he turned to look at his boyfriend. The alien turned his head to look back at Alex and smiled softly at him.

“Happy fall,” he whispered, as the movie started playing in the background.

Alex kissed him on the lips before he spoke, “Happy fall.”

“Some people want to watch a movie, boys,” Rosa stated, glaring at them as she threw popcorn at their heads.

One piece of popcorn got stuck in Michael’s hair and Michael grabbed it before throwing it in his mouth.

“Delicious,” he stated before turning to capture Alex’s lips on his own.

[xxxrubytuesdayxxx]

If you turn Jimin down...

Word Count: 1,022

Credit: My ex-flatmate also wrote the majority of this section during another of our late-night, cross-continental writing sessions.

Disclaimers: This is part (50) of a Choose Your Own Ending!

Start here:

“Not helping  Jimin,” you tell him softly. He looks a little disappointed, but shrugs his acquiescence and sinks back into his chair. 

“I wouldn’t even worry about it anyway, noona,” he comments. “They don’t seem too keen on us being in those variety shows these days so Hitman Bang is probably just trying to be diplomatic. Everyone knows JK is too young and flighty to make a convincing reality-show husband. That’s probably why he’s offering him as tribute. You know - seem willing, but offer something that he knows won’t work out.” His eyes sparkle with mischief, and you wonder, not for the first time, why people don’t realise there’s a lot more going on in Jimin’s head than he’s given credit for. It’s how he gets away with that innocent demeanor whilst making jokes that would make a whore blush once the cameras stop rolling.

Turns out he’s right and Hitman Bang gets to keep the tv producers on side whilst making sure that his golden goose BTS is kept free to produce their own content and before you know it they’ve got a whole new schedule lined up and Jeongguk is sneaking into your room on a regular basis whilst Joon faithfully turns a blind eye, even if just to keep the peace.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I need shelves,” Namjoon announces.

It’s Sunday night at the Bangtan household, and having spent the entire weekend filming the next few Run BTS episodes, the boys decide to stay in. All the heads in the living room turn to look at the source of the voice, standing in the entryway, holding a KAWS figure in each hand.

“Get one of the runners to handle it,” Yoongi suggests with a shrug, going back to his laptop. “We have too much to do this week.”

“It’s better to build it yourself,” Tae says, “have that sense of accomplishment, you know?”

“Sure,” Yoongi replies without looking up.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk pipes up, “I’ll help you look for a toolbox.”

“We have a toolbox?” Jimin asks curiously.

“Yah, there are seven able-bodied men in this apartment,” Jin answers confidently, getting up to help the search, “I’m sure one of us has a toolbox.”

About 20 minutes later, shoulders slumped and with a heavy sigh, Jin concludes rather defeatedly, “None of us have a toolbox.”

You all decide to go out the next day and make a trip out of it. You, Namjoon and Jeongguk will head to IKEA; Jin, Hobi, Tae and Jimin will be putting together and buying a toolbox at a nearby hardware store. Yoongi opts to stay in and hold the fort in case any unexpected assignments turn up. Both of your groups have two bodyguards assigned to them, dressed as civilians - making you look like just another group of friends running errands on a regular Monday.

Making your way through the familiar IKEA maze, the three of you stop often in the room displays and wait for Namjoon as he looks around. You quietly watch as Jeongguk weaves through the furniture in these rooms, picking the smaller things up and inspecting them before putting them back down, knocking on the wooden tables to get a feel for them. He’s quiet and contemplative, but he’ll smile warmly at you every time your eyes meet.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” you ask him, taking a seat on one of the couches. He moves away from the table lamp he was looking at and flops down next to you.

“Hm, not really,” he says, “just thinking.”

“About your new place?” you ask, referring to the multi-billion-won apartment he bought just a month ago.

“Yeah, I haven’t furnished it,” he laughs awkwardly. “I was thinking maybe it’s about time.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” you say to him, “you live in the dorm anyway.” A part of you assumes it will be easier for you guys to have privacy if he spends more time at his new place, but the other part of you worries that since you live in the dorm, the situation might turn out just the opposite.

“Will you help?” he asks quietly, “look at things with me?” Your heart softens at his request. “Since I don’t know room dimensions yet, maybe we can just look at things I might need,” he says with a shrug.

“Your apartment is empty, you’re going to need literally everything,” you laugh gently.

He laughs as well, “I know, noona! I mean, help me with where to start.”

“Kitchen,” you say determinedly, getting on your feet, “let’s go.” He springs up and gives you that cute smile you love, at the same time towering over you.

The two of you spend the rest of the afternoon hypothetically decorating Jeongguk’s apartment. He walks up to a mock kitchen and tells you he likes it, asks you what you think. You try not to visibly melt when he suggests a custom wardrobe with some extra few drawers - for you. You tell him you like the idea of a series of rugs in the living room; he reminds you that neither of you enjoy vacuuming very much. You suggest a few couches, and the two of you proceed to test each one. You debate on lamps, white vs yellow.

The three of you - with the bodyguards lingering a few feet away - end up at the queue to pay with a trolley of Namjoon’s flat-packed shelves and a few odd bits in hand. Along the way Jeongguk has grabbed photo frames for Yoongi, empty food containers for Jin and a watering can for Taehyung. In his pocket sits a piece of paper with Swedish furniture names scribbled haphazardly onto it, in your handwriting. Standing in line at check-out, you think back to the several moments in the day where he had included and considered you in his future living situation, and watching him talk to Namjoon excitedly about blinds vs curtains, you feel your heart warm. You could get used to this. Maybe it’s finally time to ask Big Hit if there’s any chance you and he can date, if you both keep things discreet.

If you tell Big Hit that you and Jeongguk have feelings for each other If you keep it on the q.t.

[plutoismydaddy]

A devils smile

Taehyung x reader (Enemies to lovers)

He was the one that was supposed to get pranked, so why did you feel like the clown? (Idk im tired)

I got a request for this by a very nice person but… I can’t find the request. I’m so sorry!!  (I made the picture, please dont steal it)

CH 1 CH 2

The golden rays of the setting danced through your windows and coated your room with its crimson hues, remind you of how little you had done today. The pandemic that was sweeping over the world was devastating but brought small doses of happiness as you no longer had to go to school. So, of course, the first option was to start colonizing on your couch. You took a bite of your sandwich as picked up your phone that had started to buzz beside you. In the middle of your lock screen floated the message notification with Sun-hi’s name written on it. Taking the last bite of your meal, you unlocked your phone, a video popped up on the chat room. You‘r eyebrows rose in surprise, “She actually filmed it” you thought before clicking on it. The screen was black for a second before a voice was heard “Hey, Taehyung there is something for you” you watched as Taehyung with an excited and surprised smile walks into the frame. Clueless as to what was going to unfold. Taehyung Stood in front of the small gift basket a smile stretched across his lips as he examined it, “Is this for me?” you let out a laugh “It’s all for you baby” you thought as he picked up a small can of pringles. You moved closer to the screen to as he opened the top and watched as he jumped back with a little screech when three black snakes and a cloud of confetti exploded in his face. Your back collided with the grey cushions as fell back, laughter echoing through the room. Looking back at the screen, you watched as Taehyung with a now sour face opened the bag of chewy candy only to find it filled with orbeez. He threw the bag back into the basket before turning around and stomping away, you were slightly disappointed he hadn’t opened the other things. Still, it didn’t stop the cackling that was shaking your body. Exiting the video, you saw a new message, “You’re running out of ideas, huh?”, with a small chuckle you responded, “Nothing can beat a classic”. No respond “Come on, you have to admit it was funny. A little at least” a second past before she replied “He hasn’t said anything in 15 minutes” followed by a laughing sticker which you mirrored as your laughter resumed again.

“I really thought life was going to be nice to me, huh?” you thought as you put the cardboard box down with a huff. You loved your uncle and was always ready to help him but was he thinking when he asked you, the weakest person in the family, to help him with his renovation company. Now that you thought about it wasn’t he the same person to say your arms looked like a grasshopper, you shook your head. “The man must be desperate”, you looked around the warehouse it was huge and filled with old furniture and clothes that would be eventually sold. Outside one of the windows, you saw the colours of the sunset blend with each other to create an art piece, you should head home before it got too dark.

 Your uncle had been nice enough to give you a locker to put all your belongings, standing in front of the small grey locker you picked up the little sticky note that sat on the door. “Thank you for helping me out, sweetheart.” Warmth filled your chest he was so sweet, a smile stretched across your lips as you opened the locker and reached in for your bag, something small and light fell on your hand when you bumped your jacket. You looked up and saw a cockroach sitting proudly on the back of your hand, a scream flew from your lips and you stumbled backwards and cringed in pain as your butt collided with the floor. “What’s wrong?” your uncle burst through the door panic clear on his face you pointed towards your locker fear taking away your ability to speak. He walked up to the locker but didn’t seem scared by the monster inside at all; instead, he let out a laugh. “Oh sweety this made out of plastic” he turned around with a hand full of cockroaches, plastic cockroaches. You stood up fear now replaced with anger “Why would you do that?” you said clutching your heart making sure it was still beating and pointing at him with the post-it note. He held up his hands “I didn’t do this” you looked at him unimpressed “Really it wasn’t me” you crossed your arms. “Then who could it be” you rolled your eyes “Maybe it was your friend” eyes now squinted you looked back at your uncle “Friend?”, “Yeah a guy came in today saying you forgot your shirt or something and I told him To just put it in your locker”. Your eyes squinted more as a suspect popped up in your head “What was his name?”. “Taehyung, I think” your uncle muttered while scratching his neck, you looked back at your locker “Not bad, not bad indeed Kim Taehyung”, but how did he know you were here?  

“So what you’re saying is that you betrayed me” Sun-hi chuckled “All I did was say that you were helping your uncle out, how would I know he was going find the address and do something like that?”. You blinked at her “.....betrayal, traitor” “You literally befriended me because I work with him” she argued as she took a sip of her coffee. “It’s called getting info about the enemy sweety, strategy. I thought you were smarter than this” you finished the sentence with a dramatic sigh. Sun-hi looked back at you “What is even going on, you know with all the pranks, you're acting like kindergarten kids”. Ignoring the last part as you leaned back in your chair and stared into the air with dreamy eyes “Just get to it” Sun-hi sighed. “So like a year ago I walked into the convenience store to buy some snacks, and all my favourite chips were gone and the same with my favourite drinks. As I walked out, I saw a guy who was buying all of them.” You leaned forward resting your elbows on the table and furrowing your eyebrows “I thought “it’s fine I’ll just buy them next time” you raised your finger making Sun-hi flinch “BUT! It was the same every day. Every time I walked in he was buying them or sitting by the door eating them”. “Oh and that stupid smirk” You stared into the air, eyes burning holes into the wall across the street. “He would always have that stupid. cocky smirk” Sun-hi let out an unimpressed chuckle “So all of this is because of some chips” your eyes returned to her “No it’s about…” your brain seemed to go blank, and sun-hi raised her eyebrows “The disrespect?”, “Yes, exactly”. She shook her head “and who started this whole prank war” you smirked leaning back in our chair “I did”, “I don’t think it’s something to be proud of” Ignoring her you pulled your phone out “So how do you think I should prank him this time?”.

Your eyes were fixated on the pictures displayed on your screen, the familiar page of Taehyungs Instagram open as you looked through the newest pictures he posted. “What’s with the serious face?” Haneul asked as he walked into the living room, you stopped your scrolling. “I’m plotting my revenge” you answered monotony as your eyes scanned the picture on your screen. Taehyung was leaning against a brick wall, his wine red dress shirt unbuttoned to expose the top of his chest the sun coating his skin in a honey hue. “You’re still doing the whole prank war thing?” you nodded your head, “Why don’t you just end it” looking up you gave him a confused look “You know, prank him so hard you basically “win” “. “Don’t encourage her” Sun-hi sighed from beside you “No, but if you do that then he will finally leave you alone, and the two of you don’t have to talk again”. Not talk to him again, your lips pressed together in a slight pout as you though. “Or maybe you don’t want that” your thought came to a halt “What?”, “Do you not want this pranking to stop?” Sun-hi’s smirk mirrored Haneul, “Why would I not want that?” you leaned back, resting your chin against your palm. Sun-hi let out a laugh “Because you...like Taehyung” you sat upright as if poked in your side “Are you crazy?” you tried to sound bored, but the sudden tight feeling in your chest was making it hard to think straight. “People that hate each other can still fall in love” you raised your eyebrows at Haneul. “You two were literally like two love deprived teens when you first meet”, “Still why would I date someone like him” you continued, sticking your tongue out in disgust. Sun-hi tried to suppress her laughter as she leaned towards you and pointing towards your lap “Then why are always scrolling through his Instagram and staring at his pictures”. You looked down onto your phone where Taehyung was still leaning against the wall, smirking as always. Heat pooled in your cheeks and you feel almost dizzy as you stood up from your seat “I’m leaving”. You could hear the couple burst out laughing as you stomped towards the front door.

--------------------------------------

I'll post the next chapter tomorrow, it’s really late and I’ve been working on this for the past week maybe. 

//MiniPluto

[hellofellowweirdos]

Chapter 4

“We going shopping or shoplifting?” Ava laughs when she sees Tony’s ‘inconspicuous’ attire (a pair of jeans, a blue hoodie, and blacked out sunglasses) as she gently closes her bedroom door. Tony meets her at the top of the stairs and they proceed to walk down together. Tony shrugs.

“Well, I don’t mean to brag but I am Tony Stark aka Iron Man. I have many adoring fans who would love to take pictures.” It’s meant to come off as sarcastic, although Tony’s afraid it may have sounded big-headed. However, to his relief, Ava laughs.

They make it to the elevator; Rhodey telling them to ‘have fun’ just before the doors slide shut.

“Hey, I’m doing this for you: if I’m not recognised the more time I get to spend with you,” Tony says this lightheartedly, however still manages to keep a slight tone of seriousness in his voice that he hopes Ava can hear.

Ava’s quiet for a moment, and Tony thinks he should have made the seriousness of the statement more prominent. Before he can even begin to overthink, however, Ava speaks up.

“Thank you,” she says sincerely; looking up at him with an expression Tony can’t decipher.

“No problem, kiddo.” His words are also sincere. And, although he doesn’t know why, his statement means a lot to Ava - but he dare not ask why, or even point it out.

The elevator finally reaches the lobby floor; and as the doors slide smoothly open, the two are greeted by Happy.

“Good morning, where are you two going?” Happy asks, taking his position as head of security seriously - as always. At first this was extremely annoying to Tony, however as time passed he’s become more fond of Happy’s approach to things.

“Shopping,” Tony answers and picks up his pace.

“I’ll get the car,” Happy states, moving towards the garage before his path is blocked by Tony.

“I was planning on driving today,” Tony informs him as he switches his gaze subtly back and forth between Happy and Ava, hoping he gets the message. Happy gives a slight nod.

“Oh, ok. I get ya.” Tony gives him a quick smile and a thumbs up, and is about to walk away when Happy says, “I’ll follow behind.” Tony’s patience is beginning to ware thin.

“Happy, I know you mean well, but you gotta give me some space,” he tells him as gently as he can; Happy opens his mouth to interrupt, “At least for today.” Without waiting for a reply this time, Tony leads Ava towards the garage. Just as they reach the door Happy calls after them.

“Be back before 7.” Tony chuckles to himself; he even hears Ava let out a slight giggle.

“Yes mom!” he calls back, to which Ava laughs at. He’s very chuffed with himself.

As they enter the garage, Tony notices the way Ava’s eyes widen at the sight of his vast collection of cars. He eyes are immediately drawn to the bright yellow Lambourghuini. Whilst Ava gawps Tony strolls over to all of the keys hanging on separate hooks, and take they keys to the Lambourghuini. Casually, he strolls over to the sports car - tossing the keys up and down as he walks.

“What happened to keeping a low profile?” Ava chuckles at her dad leaning against the side of the car, a smirk on his face.

“This could be any obnoxious rich guy’s car,” Tony explains as he opens the passenger door for Ava.

“It literally says Stark on the back,” she laughs, noticing the number plate, before climbing into the car.

“Would you rather take the subway?” he asks sarcastically, closing the door for Ava. He jogs round to the driver’s side. He doesn’t bother to open the door, he just jumps right over it into the seat.

“Hell no!” Ava replies enthusiastically, running her hand over the dashboard in admiration. Tony smiles.

“Got your seatbelt on?”

“Yep,” Ava replies as she clips herself in.

“Good.” Tony turns the keys in the ignition and the car roars to life.

                                                        ~ ~ ~ ~

“So, where do you wanna go first?” Tony asks Ava as they get out of the car. Ava thinks for a moment.

“Maybe a painting would looks good above my bed,” she replies, unsure as to what she could buy - it’s not her money after all. Tony nods and leads them towards the nearest relevant store.

The store they end up in is a rather large home store, so it takes them a while to find the section they’re looking for.

Ava wanders down each of the aisles, her eyes passing over each of the art pieces on display but none of them have caught her interest so far.

“Seen anything you like yet?”

“Not yet,” Ava mumbles back a reply, her eyes still scanning over her options. They walk a few more feet before she hears her dad’s footsteps behind her come to a stop. She turns around to see him pointing towards a canvas print of Iron Man.

“Now this is very nice. A masterpiece!” Ava giggles. Tony picks up the canvas and shows Ava.

“What do you think? This would look great in the living room,” Tony exclaims, turning it over to see the price on the reverse, “And such a good price! I’ve got to get this.” Tony puts the painting under his arm and continues down the aisle.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Ava giggles, watching her father walk away.

“Of course. I’m gonna hang it above the sofa; see how long it takes someone to notice,” he chuckles. Ava shakes her head in amusement and they continue wandering through the aisles.

***

Eventually, Ava finds a couple pieces of art that she likes.

“I don’t know which one I like more,” Ava mumbles to herself as he looks back and forth between the two canvases.

“Get them both,” Tony encourages.

“Really?”

“Of course. What did I say this morning?” Tony states, already taking one of the paintings from Ava to carry. Ava thinks back to this morning.

“Sky’s the limit,” she remembers, following Tony from the aisle.

“Sky’s the limit,” he confirms enthusiastically, “you can redecorate your whole room if you want, kiddo.” Ava becomes excited at this news.

“Well in that case we’re gonna need a shopping cart,” she exclaims, leading Tony out of the aisle.

***

Throughout the morning, Ava drags Tony around the store and many others looking for the perfect decorations for her new room. Tony doesn’t really mind, in fact, he’s enjoying himself - although by the time lunch time rolls around he’s exhausted.

“You hungry?” Tony asks Ava, interrupting her hunt for the perfect vanity.

“I am kind of peckish,” she doesn’t remove her eyes from inspecting the furniture, “where were you thinking?” Ava continues to move down the aisle, after deciding that particular vanity is not what she wants. Tony trails behind her, pushing the overflowing shopping cart.

Tony thinks for a moment before answering.

“You like Burger King?” she replies, still not stopping her scan of the aisle.

“Great, there’s one just round the corner. We’ll pay for these and then head there,” he looks down at the cart’s contents skeptically, “they deliver don’t they?”

Ava suddenly halts. In his distraction Tony almost doesn’t stop in time, although she didn’t seem to notice - which he’s glad for.

“This one’s perfect,” Ava exclaims, running her hand over the wooden surface of the vanity. She reaches round to the back of the mirror to turn on the large bulbs surrounding it. She squeals in joy, causing a few surprised glances from the surrounding customers. Tony chuckles, I guess she likes this one. He hasn’t failed to notice how picky she is.

“Grab the box and balance it on top of the other stuff,” Tony instructs, and Ava does just that. With the right amount of manoeuvring the contents on the cart, the compact box is now balances on top as safely as it can be.

“Right, food.” Ava sighs dramatically, already charging off towards the checkout. Tony struggles to turn the heavy cart around in the right direction.

Thankfully there isn’t much of a line, although it was enough to make Tony debate on whether to just run around the corner to get their food while they wait. Although he’s starving, Tony decided against it soon enough as waiting to get their food together means that the two of them can spend more time getting to know each other.

                                                         ~ ~ ~ ~

Over lunch the two make small talk, which is extremely awkward at first, however they soon get into an easy and natural conversation about Ava’s school.

“Well, science is pretty cool. But I used to hate it before I got this new teacher, Mr. Burner. My old teacher was really boring, he head this voice that just droned on and on. No emotion in his voice whatsoever! Although you could lead him off on a tangent really easily, we once got him talking about different cookie brands for almost the full lesson,” Ava pauses to shove a few fries into her mouth, “Anyway, Mr. Burner made the lessons really interesting. Like, instead of just lecturing us for an hour he would actually let us do stuff. He’s the reason I joined the chemistry club, which I really enjoyed.”

Ava takes a moment to think, “I’m also pretty interested in engineering. We had a careers day at school not too long ago, it certainly made my mind up about whether it was for me or not.”

“So you want to be an engineer then?” Tony asks enthusiastically, Ava knew this was a topic that she could bond with him over.

“Yeah, although I haven’t had much chance to actually do any - my school doesn’t exactly have the facilities to offer such a curriculum.” Tony seemed disheartened by this comment, almost more than herself it seemed.

“Aww, that’s a shame,” he says sympathetically; his face brightens, “Well I could teach you some things. I have plenty of projects that I’m working on, I could use an assistant.: His voice is laced with hope; Ava finds his shy hopefulness very sweet.

“Really? Does that mean I get to work on the Iron Man armour?!” she squeals excitedly, barely able to contain her excitement.

“Maybe,” Tony replies with a sly chuckle, causing Ava to let out an excited gasp.

“I have so many ideas, I can’t wait to show you. I have them all drawn out in my notebook!” Ava rambles.

Tony raises his eyebrow, “really? Wow, I can’t wait to see them. Are they like cosmetic ideas, weaponry ideas, or just general maintenance ideas?”

“Bit of everything really,” she shrugs, “although I don’t actually know if any f it will actually work: I’m not great with math.” Tony smiles fondly.

“Tell you what, after we finish our food you can get your notebook and we’ll go down to the armoury and take a crack at your ideas. I’ll help you with the math. We can do it together,” he suggests, finishing off his burger in one bite.

Ava beams at the idea, she can’t believe he want’s to work on her ideas with her. And help her learn how to do the math!

“Let’s go!” she exclaims as he gets ready to leave, her mouth full from having just inhaled the rest of her food. Before Tony even gets a chance to say anything she’s marching out the door.

                                                         ~ ~ ~ ~

“Why don’t you go grab your notebook and I’ll meet you in the armoury. It’s just down here,” Tony suggests when they exit the elevator into the living room, gesturing over to the staircase. With a quick nod Ava is running upstairs to her room, prompting Tony to run downstairs - he needs to clean up all the crap he left lying about yesterday.

When he opens the door the mess isn’t as bad as he had thought, just some tools lying out on the counters. Although he does spot his half eaten sandwich and coffee cup left by the computer. He quickly throws the rest of the sandwich in the trash but doesn’t have time to take the mug and plate up the the kitchen as Ava comes bounding down the stairs, notebook in hand. She begins flipping through the pages as Tony sets down the mug and plate on the desk again.

“What you got for me?” Tony pulls an extra stool up to the holographic computer for Ava to sit. She doesn’t look up from her notebook while doing so, still flipping through the pages, making Tony wonder just how many ideas she has.

The two spend quite some time looking over each of her designs. Tony is not only amazed by her ideas, some that even he could never have fabricated, but by her art skills as well. Each idea is mapped out in a painstakingly detailed diagram, not like the kind Tony whips up either: it’s artistic detail, almost like concept art for a movie.

“Wow,” is all Tony can say.

Ava sheepishly glances at him, “I know they’re probably not the best ideas but I worked really hard on them and...” Tony cuts her off, realising she’s getting the wrong end of the stick.

“No, I mean ‘wow’ as in they’re well,” he struggles for words, “just simply... outstanding.” Ava beams; Tony cherishes the sight.

“Thank you. I’ve never actually shown these to anyone before.” Tony is so proud of her, his daughter. Wow, this father thing is catching on pretty fast, he thinks as she flicks through the rest of her drawings: he never thought he’d get to experience this feeling.

Gently taking the notebook from Ava’s hands he continues to flick though the designs.

“They’re all so artistically drawn as well,” he looks up from his inspections to Ava, still grinning form ear to ear, “You, young lady, have talent.” Seeing her so happy and proud of herself makes Tony happy, and in that moment, he realises what it feels like to be a dad. There’s so much love in his expression it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out how much she already means to him - he’d do anything for his little girl.

After flicking through a few more pages he stops, examining this particular design with trained eyes.

“This one!” He exclaims, slapping the notebook down in front of Ava, “Let’s start with this one.” Tony shifts his gaze from the notebook to Ava, smiling a proud smile. Ava nods, and they get to work.

[prodicalviews]

Untitled

About a year ago I started writing this fic I was pretty tipsy (maybe even drunk). I remember laughing my head off like I was funny lol.

Please don't take this seriously, I mixed my drinks that night I was a mess the next day.

Feel free to call this drabble what you want.  In the meantime, I’ll be updating all the fics this week.  (yes all)

power to fanfic writers, may the new year grant you creativity, no writer's block, and clear skin.

I never understood why the landlord never warned me whenever we had a new tenant.  Specifically when there’s a vacancy next to me.  It shouldn’t be hard, the guy lived two doors down from me.  Though I wasn’t going to say anything to that big burly man.

Three.  Three people in the last 5 months went through this apartment.  And of course being the nice genuine person I am I’d give them a welcoming pan of cake or cookies.  I’d also befriend them, despite my loner tendencies. It never hurts to have someone watch after your cat when you go on a shopping trip.

No thanks to Abe, also known as the landlord.  I found out we were getting a new tenant from Carol.  My other neighbor.  Honestly, I understood why those girls moved out.  One, these condos were expensive.  Two, shopping sprees daddies money didn’t fully cover were more important than rent.  Three, everyone living here was either, doctors, lawyers or some other hotshot.  So holding a conversation without sounding like an idiot was damn near impossible.  Unless of course, you were talking to an actor or my downstairs neighbor, Jessie.  Bless her heart.  I can’t count how much celebrity’s I’ve met just walking to the dumpster.  Just taking out some trash the other day and hey would you look at that, Nicholas Cage.  Well, most of them were old time celebs but they were still famous, right?

As I was saying, right when I got to know these girls well enough.  They went and left me.  I’d ask Carol to watch Mike but she’s allergic to cats.  Morgan was always busy with his son. Glenn and Maggie, well they wouldn’t even bother feeding him.  I’m pretty sure Daryl would just throw him in the trash.  Negan would watch him, but of course, that came with a sizable price and Jessie?  I’m positive she’d kill him by accident.  Sasha watched him before but now she’s always missing since she became chief of staff at the hospital.  Abe would just have him testing landmines in the desert during my absence.

I stared down at my furless cat.  His big brown doe eyes called to me.  Yes, he was ugly.  Everyone made sure to tell me this.  But I loved him.  He’s my little muse.  But a girl needed new underwear, shoes, and blouses.  I don’t know how I managed to survive this long, I haven’t gone shopping in a year.  A whole year.  And if that meant sucking up to whoever was moving boxes of their shit into condo 7 then so be it.

It wasn’t long before Mike started mewling for his morning breakfast.  His stretchy skin rubbed against my bare legs.  His meows only seemed to get louder.

“Don’t worry Mike, momma’s going to get your kibbles.  You want kibbles don’t ya?”  He meowed in response.  I was positive on some level Mike understood me.  He’s been with me for eight years now.  Through thick and thin he stuck by my side. He was two when I lost my job at Atlanta’s art gallery.  I decided to take a leap of faith, the money I made from the paintings sold over the years was meeting its end.  Mike and I were barely surviving, with my last bit of funds I made a tedious treacherous journey down to LA in my small KIA.  It wasn’t long before I lost hope.  Selling paintings on the roadside didn’t pay the bill for that trash motel we stayed at.  Eventually, I took a job waiting at a restaurant.  It was a sight to behold, I earned my degree in the Arts yet I was waiting tables for the hillbillies, hippies and con artist of LA.

But I didn’t give up.  After getting the green light to display my paintings in front of the diner I worked for.  Things started to look better for me.  I sold a few pieces, enough for me to relocate to a different motel.  One that was more inhabitable.  Dale never asked for compensation if I sold an art piece.  He was a genuine man that wanted the best for me, along with a few of the other waitresses that were trying to get through school.  So when he told me about an inquiry on my pieces from a man in a not so modest suite I knew he wasn’t lying.

One can say I’ve made a name for myself, six years later I supplied work for some of the biggest Galleries in the city.  And a year since I had a stable neighbor in Condo 7 after Noah died.  He was a young up and coming actor with a boisterous personality and a genuine smile.  After dying in a head-on collision we all mourned his death.

Pulling open one of my cupboard, I grabbed the bag of overly expensive catnip along with Mike’s bowl.  He nudges my leg urging me to hurry and serve his food.  I loved him to death but his attitude needed an adjustment.

Pouring food into his bowl and I watched as he made a dash for it.  It evoked a chuckle from me.  We were living well.  I admit we gained weight, his pudgy stomach touched the wooden panels of the kitchen floor and those five-star dishes went straight to my hips.  It was Saturday, which meant I was due a visit from Carol shortly.  Yes, Mike gave her allergies but it never stopped her from urging me out of my shell.  Art has always been my safe haven.  A man-made solace of the sort.  I’ve never been one for an abundance of company, which is why, as my work became more popular I sold anonymously.  My first name, Michonne, was still attached to everything I’ve painted but no one actually knew how I looked or my gender.  Unless you count the assholes back in Atlanta, but I haven’t heard any news of them releasing images of my face.  After all, Michonne wasn’t a common name.  Along with my longtime neighbors and the folks who bought my work in the early stages of my career my secret was safe.

As if on cue, Carol’s signature knock sounded against the door.  I rolled my eyes at the clock hanging over my stove.  Nine o’clock sharp as always.

I took my time answering the door, we always had the same conversation. Like clockwork, so I wasn’t in a rush.  Releasing my locks and turning the doorknob I was greeted by a smiling face equipped with a pan of chocolate cookies.  My mouth was watering, my weakness.  I returned her smile and relieved her of the pastries.

“That thing hasn’t sat on the couch yet as he?”  She asked a bit weary.  For Carol’s sake and peace of mind, I was sure to spray the couch and keep Mike away from her designated spot.  I waved her off removing the plastic covering her pastries.

“By thing I assume you mean Mike.”

“Oh yes, him.”  I could hear the humor in her voice.  I shook my head and started the coffee maker in the kitchen.

“I thought you’d want to reserve some treats to sway our new neighbor with.”  Oh shit, I almost forgot about them.  This was my secret, I gave them baked goods, that Carol herself baked.  Normally she’d bring in anything left over from her bakery.  But this was different, these were chocolate cookies.

“They’re not even moved in yet.”  I mentioned from the kitchen.

“Oh sweetie, where have you been for the past seven hours?”  I was sleeping no doubt.  “Last I check they were just moving the last of their furniture.”  Carol was a dear, out of all my neighbors, we exchanged the most words.  I’ll even go as far as to say she’s my closest friend.

“I don’t need to schmooze the new neighbors this early, it’s only nine o’clock.  I’ll let them settle in first.”  After the coffee maker screamed in wake of its completion I grabbed two mugs.  Mine and Carol’s permanent Saturday morning mugs.  I know.  She literally bought a mug for my place that she uses.  I poured us coffee adding sugar.  I walked in the living area balancing our coffee and a plate of cookies.

Uncrossing her legs she took her mug from my hand and watched as I sat down.  I took a careful sip of my coffee, it was hot and the scent from the beans was strong as I inhaled, just how I liked it.

“You wouldn’t have to schmooze them if you’d just buy your clothes online.  This is the 21st century after all.”  She is 40.  Exactly ten years my senior, so her words were more than ironic.  It made me feel decades old.

“Carol we’ve been through this too many times.  I prefer to buy items that are my size exactly.”  I wasn’t lying when I mentioned that Mike and I gained weight.  Living the good life put me up a cup size and made jeans stop to my thighs when I squeezed into them.  It wasn’t as if I wasn’t working out.  There was a gym downstairs I utilized constantly, but once my hips and breast got bigger they decided to stay that way, despite all my effort and time.  “So I buy them in the flesh.”

She just waved me off.  “You don’t need to take a flight to buy clothes, Michonne.”  She was right, but it was one of the perks hard earned money bought you.  I clucked my tongue to the roof of my mouth deciding to change the topic of conversation.

“So how is Ezekiel doing?”  And just like that her blue eyes glazed over.  For as long as I knew Carol, they’ve been together.  I even gave him a few pointers on how to grow his locs.  I was glad they stuck together so I could watch his locs flourish past his shoulders.  I was also elated for Carol.  Ezekiel was a B list actor, one of my favorite actors since he played Victor on ‘The Last Knights’.  It was among many of my TV favorites.  Technically they lived together, but during filming season he had to go to a different state but they kept in touch.  As to why they’ve been together for years without getting married was beyond me.

“He’s doing just fine.”  Her cheeks were tainted pink.  She still swooned over him like a lovesick teen.  I smiled at her.  “Instead of diverting to the man in my life let’s talk about your love life.”  She sported a devilish smirk behind her gray flower mug.

Somehow I fought the urge to roll my eyes.  I knew I was attractive, in fact, most of the men I met found me alluring.  But since no one ever saw me with a man publically they assumed I was a lesbian.  Obviously, since I didn’t want the hassle and stress of a relationship I welcomed the notion.  Even Carol seemed on the fence about my sexuality.

“It’s nonexistent. I don’t get out much to meet anyone, hence another reason I need this shopping trip.”  I told her taking big bites out of the cookie.

“If you’d just go out with me and the others that would change.”  Yes, the monthly ritual they established.  Once a month everyone would get dressed and have dinner usually followed by the night ending at a posh club.  On more than one occasion Negan asked me to come.  He was handsome. I’d go as far to say he was sexy, with dimpled cheeks, a wide smile and a nice head of hair.  But my goodness was he a player.  My guess is that he was juggling about 5 different women right now.  Most lawyers I’ve met had multiple women.  Of course, that didn’t stop him from wanting me.

“I’m not one for outings with packed crowds,”  I mentioned.

Carol shook her head.  “I have a feeling your life will change, Michonne.  And soon too.”

“Are you hanging out with Gabriel again?  My life changed six years ago.  And for the better too.”  Gabriel was a pastor and Morgan’s brother.  He always stopped by to use our gym and Abe allowed it.  He was even gifted with an ID for the front gate last Christmas.  At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if he moved into Morgan’s Condo.

As much as I complained about needing personal space, I loved everyone living here, in my own way.  Jessie was questionable.  I knew more about everyone’s personal life than they knew of mine.  On occasions, I’d even give them advice and water their plants when I’m not working.  I even parked bikes courtesy of Daryl Dixon.  After Morgan’s nasty divorce I held down the fort and watched his son, Dwayne, when he was on call at the Hospital.

Of course, I was happy to do it.  Dale’s good deeds rubbed off on me.  Because of that, they’d help me in return.  It wasn’t that no one wanted to watch Mike, they were eager to.  But I couldn’t trust them to care for him, especially since they didn’t have the advantage of living next door to me.  Where I held all of his emergency medicine.  He had cancer, which explained why he was bald.  Call me picky.  I just prefer the person next to my condo to watch him if need be.

A loud horn blared from outside.  My eyebrows furrowed silently questioning Carol.  She shrugged and moved toward the window, I simply followed suit.  There we were mugs still in hand peering through the open creases of my wooden blinds.  I squinted trying to make out the face of a brunette.

“That must be her,”  Carol whispered.  “Wait I see a man in the car...”  She paused.  “He looks homeless.”  I scowled in confusion.  Abe always did background checks.  He didn’t have connections to the military for nothing.  I didn’t blame him for wanting to make sure people were able to pay their rent.  Abe also offered a deal to share land, once you’ve paid a suitable size of money you were able to live in your condo without monthly rent.  It was a choice he’d offer and it was cheaper in the long run.  Of course, household bills still had to be paid.  Some people like Daryl and Carol chose that from the start.

“Why are you whispering, it’s not like they’ll hear us through the window.”

“It’s more polite.”

“Like the action of peeping can be softened with whispering.”  We both laughed before Carol shushed me.  I caught a glimpse of the man, he was still inside the sleek black Porsche.  He had quite the beard on him.  He also wore a ratty baseball cap which probably caused him to be called homeless.  It hid his face well so I couldn’t make out his features.  The brunette went back to the window leaning in close to the bearded man.  “Oh looks like they’re a couple.”

“What do you think they do?”  I asked Carol still staring at the couple, mug in hand.  I had no shame.

“I have no idea.  But I’m guessing the woman’s a model.  Though Abraham didn’t mention there would be two of them.”  She did look like a model.  Her silky hair reached past her shoulders, leading down to a trim tight body.  Hopefully, she wasn’t another Jessie.  Jessie did something to deserve my spite, she may not remember but I do. Oh, I remember very well.

The last person to move in was, in fact, Jessie Anderson, so in our defense, we did the same thing to Jessie when she moved in four years ago.  Along with the three women who moved in over the last few months, if they counted.  When Jessie modeled her way to her condo but couldn’t figure out how to open her own door. Bless her soul. We figured she had a sugar daddy or was a model.  We were right on both counts.

“Oh goodness, we can’t have another Jessie.”  Even Carol understood.  After a moment the woman pulled away from the car and it drove off.  She was heading this way. Shit!

We tried our best to scramble away from the window without spilling the remnants of our coffee.  I switched on my TV opting to settle on a random station.

“You think she saw us?”  She asked me.

“We’re inside unless she has a third all seen eye that’s impossible,”  I told her taking in gulps of caffeine.  I was quite sure we were in the clear so when a knock bounced off my door it caught me off guard.  I spilled coffee on my capris night pants.  A frustrated moan left my throat, these stains were hard to get rid of.  I was forced to answer the door with a stain the size of a black hole on my white pants.  I still had my locs gathered on top of my head, I decided against letting it down.

The door swung open and I was greeted by another smiling face for the second time this morning.  It was the brunette.   Up close she was actually quite stunning.

“Oh, I’m sorry I was actually looking for the landlord.  I’m Lori by the way.’’  She stuck her hand out towards mine her nails gleamed with a clear coat of peach polish.  I took her hand after a moment of silence.

“Michonne.”  She was nice.

Her eyes lit up upon hearing my name.  “You’re not Michonne the painter are you?”  Her tone held curiosity.

“Umm, no.  I’m not.”  Although she seemed nice I didn’t know her.  If the painting on my living room wall wasn’t any indication of who I was then she really didn’t need to know.

She rolled her eyes and dropped my hand.  “Of course, she’d have enough money for better…uhh apparel maybe even a house.”  Bitch! Her eyes darted to the stain on my pants. I wanted to scream ‘but bitch you’re living here too!’ I held my tongue.  “How silly of me.”

“It was an honest mistake.”  I had to suck up to this bitch?  I think not.  Funny how first impressions left a lasting mark.  I’ll mourn the loss of new undergarments later.  My only hope was that her boyfriend was nicer since her ring finger was bare.

Lori nodded lacing her hands together.  “Like I said earlier, I was looking for the landlord.”  Her tone was short all of a sudden like she didn’t want to stay by this door a minute longer.  I pointed to the left.

“He’s two doors down.  But if I were you I wouldn’t bother him this early on Saturday’s.  If Sasha answers you’ll be in luck.”  Abe didn’t have a knack for Saturday mornings, any time after eleven was better for him.  I learned the hard way after the pipe in my bathroom burst.  I ran to Abe banging on his door.  By the time he answered, he was red-faced and shirtless.  He fixed my plumbing problem but I was left with feeling that I interrupted something.  He didn’t speak to me for a week.

Lori thanked me, clearly ignoring my warning and made her way to Abe’s door.  I placed the locks back to their original position and turned to face Carol.

“Well isn’t she a dime.”  Carol mentioned sarcastically.  A dime indeed.  I rubbed the stain on my pants although it didn’t do anything to fade it.

“Now I’m hoping she does catch Abe at a bad time.”

“Just take my advice Michonne, order clothes and have it delivered here.  It’s what I always do.”  We were back to that conversation again.  We passed the time sitting together discussing neighborhood changes, our TV shows and of course neighborly gossip.

“Have you noticed that Maggie gained some weight?”  Only Carol would notice these small things.

“So? I’ve gained weight.”

Carol shook her head, exasperated with my line of thinking.  “Michonne, you weren’t having sex nonstop for the past two months.”  I was a tiny bit offended.  In fact I hadn’t had any sexual exploits since leaving Atlanta.  That was years ago.

“How would you know this?  You don’t even live next to them to hear anything.”  She scoffed at me.

“I’ve seen enough displays of affection between them to light up a cow.”  Maggie and Glenn had been married when I met them.  They actually gave me hope that there was a forever.  They always said they’d wait to have kids, both being in the drug research field.  They wanted to focus on their careers before adding a little addition to the family.

“So you think she’s pregnant?”  I bit into my cookie.

“I know.”  Her eyes twinkled.

The infamous horn made its appearance again, prompting Carol and I back into peeping.  Lori had a scowl on her face as she made her way to the sleek car.

“You think Abraham made her angry?”  I questioned though I could care less.

“Oh, I’m sure they exchanged some words.  Or her boyfriend said something to upset her.”  She added when the heavily tinted window on the Porsche didn’t roll down.  Carol was onto something there.  Lori marched to the vehicle and tapped the glass.  The door to the car opened revealing a strong arm that held it.  Lori stepped in the open space successfully blocking our view.  The suspense was killing me.

“I need to get a good look at the man, can she just move.”  I felt the same way as Carol.  This Saturday was more entertaining than just chatting about the mystery around Daryl.  Except there wasn’t a mystery surrounding him, he was just a mechanic that owned a bike store.  The vibe he had was mysterious though.

Lori moved and he was just about to exit the car when my landline rung off.  What are the chances?  I huffed and told Carol to give me a play by play.  I dashed for the phone, promising myself to invest in something cordless.

Caller ID: Simon

I groaned knowing exactly what this call was about.  I clicked call and greeted him sweetly.  “Good morning, Simon.  How are you?”

“Something tells me you’re not working on your piece since you answered this phone so quickly.”  He knew me so well.  Simon was the one who picked up my art and delivered them to galleries amongst other people.  Technically he worked for me.  It was rare for me to do my work on site.  That usually required complete discretion and a sizable check.

Carol waved her arms around drawing in my attention.  “Good lord Michonne, he isn’t homeless!”

I tried to split my attention between both Carol and Simon but it didn’t work for me.  So I focused on Simon.

“When creativity hits me I’ll be sure to text you, Simon.”  Whenever I lost momentum Simon always reminded me that I was working on a time frame.

“Be sure to.  I forgot to mention the last time I made a pick up some guy name Gregory phoned me.  He seemed adamant on talking to you.  Said it was urgent.  He sounded crazy so I shrugged it off.”  The only Gregory that rung any alarms was the ‘Atlanta Gallery’ owner who fired me with little to no remorse.  Last I heard business for him went down the drain.

“Thanks, Simon, if he calls you again let me know.”

“Sure thing.”  I hung up and made my way back to Carol who was no longer peeping out the window.  Disappointment filled me.

“I thought you were going to give me a play by play.  Did they leave?”  I checked outside the window again noticing the black car was absent.  Just my luck.

“I did but you were in the deep end of your conversation on the phone.”  She gazed at me expectantly.

Sighing I told her “Simon was just talking about my old boss calling him, said he sounded crazy.”

“Simon himself looks crazy.”

“In an artistic way Carol.”  I defended him.

The thoughts in her head were clear on her face.  It didn’t make any difference what I said.  Anyone with messy hair and an array of paint covering them looked crazy unless it was me of course.

Mike made his grand entrance, he waltzes in and rubbed himself against my leg.  Carol coughed beside me putting space between us.

“That’s my cue to leave, be sure to leave some cookies for the new neighbors.”  It wasn’t as if I was going to devour the entire pan of cookies. After closing the door behind Carol I pulled my silk night top tighter around my body.

My place was vibrant due to some of my work being hung on its white walls.  When I first moved in I wanted something modern.  I also wanted parts to remain a canvas for my doings.  I actually came across this place by accident.  It had security and it was discreet.  There was a twenty-minute drive before you came across another building.  In total there were nine occupants in the building.  Morgan, Daryl, Jessie, Glenn, and Maggie along with Negan lived on the lower level.  Abe and Sasha, Carol, myself along with the new couple lived on the second floor.  Despite the number of occupants, my place was a spacious two bedroom two bath.  I used the extra room for my work.  I was still on edge about moving in here permanently, Atlanta taught me nothing good last forever.  Sighing, I turned on my speakers and headed for my safe haven.  I worked until nightfall.

[thesecretattic]

The Luxury Edit

H&M Home

Here are some of my top picks:

These soft plush geometric curtains in shades of Ivory beige & silver are so iconic, they are a must have if you can splurge 9990/- as of now I can’t… I do have the velvet crochet trimmed cushion cover in washed beige it’s a huge size compared to a standard 16 x 16 inches cushion, you do get a filler for 20 x 20 don’t worry but looking at the ratio, I’d say it has more of a “Rustic Luxe” kinda look, it is minimal and aesthetically pleasing… I am in love with the candleholder in Ivory 799/- I haven’t purchased it but it’s beautiful, you can dine like a royalty in that Dynastic Egg Cup & the Gold and Black plates remind me of Bvlgari’s opulent dinnerware (they also have it in deep dish) it’s probably one of my most favourite finds here 🤍 Next comes the gold khaki velvet cushion & the abstract centrepiece, lastly the guest towels…

Personally, I feel H&M was way better before although I like their new collection but they are adopting the all beige dull Kardashian trend and that’s a bit subjective, maximum of us won’t find it appealing even the ones who say they do are just following a fad… please bring all those amazing styles back in trend, I had shared about it in this article long ago, I’m reposting it:

List of home decor trends for dummies:

In literal sense, for and by** dummies

Just so you know, I hate ‘em all…

1. The “Aesthetic” Trend

It has a very monotonous theme and it’s something you’ll see everywhere, almost in each and every household, every blogger is going to have wooden herringbone or chevron style flooring with a white, off white, ecru or beige wall paint (with/without panelling) + a cornice border inspired by the Renaissance period & architectural style panels, anyway they blend it with “artistry” by adding naked perverted sculptures and boring modern abstract paintings with blobs and doodles + here comes the main aspect, your furniture has to match the wall paint, it has to be of the exact same shade, that too oddly misshapen furniture… you can add modular accent pieces or eccentric decor items to make it more “unique” so that it grabs more eyeballs on instagram but I don’t find it homely at all. This trend was inspired by the Kardashians, Kim to be precise. I personally feel it’s very dreary, impractical and common. As women we are supposed to respect other females and these sculptures are too salacious, they all give a very “nymphomaniac” vibe, it’s almost as if we are only born to be worshipped for our physical attributes. Sorry but my body is not a piece of art or a temple, it’s flesh and blood, it’s warm because I have a quivering heart, which still beats inspite of being broken, rapidly sometimes… and unlike all those things, my body is irreplaceable, so stop objectifying me. I’m not a candle stick to burn and give you “light” stop moulding female forms, realistically speaking you can continue to buy & sell them but I’m more into Greek busts, I don’t want to be a part of this, I don’t want to encourage or promulgate the whole idea of female commoditisation or exhibiting our figure on display… I’m not some “pretty” vase to be kept in your house for aesthetic reasons, like a “showpiece”, something which can be easily replaced… once it’s broken like I said I’m irreplaceable. Next…

2. This is what I like to call the “Psychedelic Arena”

Maximum millennials & Gen Z (including those older than me) are falling for it, they have low rise beds, no wardrobe just basic clothing racks/rails, so many of them nowadays don’t even have clothes :/ they hardly wear anything so I’m sure they won’t be needing it anyway, completely dark rooms and tacky, vivid neon lights… to create that “ecstasy” effect, you know what I mean.

3. Boring Boho

To begin with… you’ve got to have an earthy palette, so think - green, dark sage, light browns and again beige. You need to have those old fashioned iron beds with plain white beddings, pots and plants everywhere, wooden floorboards, white curtains, fringed cushions and lots of boho art. It’s very simple and “trendy” but equally common and nothing eye catchy, none of it can reflect your personal style…

Love,

Czar 𝒵ℒ.

[certainmiraclefun]

How Three Revolutionary Fabrics Are Greening the Industry

If the holiday sales are tempting you to refresh your wardrobe, consider the environmental footprint of buying a new jacket and throwing away your old one. Today, about 80 billion new pieces of clothing are made each year—400 percent more than 20 years ago, while the world’s population only grew about 30 percent. That growth has a huge environmental cost. The Danish Fashion Institute named fashion “one of the most resource-intensive industries in the world, both in terms of natural resources and human resources.” Designer Eileen Fisher has called it “the second largest polluter in the world… second only to the oil industry,” and while that fact has been disputed, a 2010 research paper found that the industry is responsible for almost 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, once clothes have been made and worn for a short while, they’re thrown away. A new report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that cumulatively around the world a truckload of clothes gets dumped every second. The average American tosses about 82 pounds of textiles a year, much of which ends up in landfills or incinerated. Of the clothing that reaches second-hand stores like Goodwill—only 15 percent of all discards—some is recycled into shoddy (filling for cheap furniture) or upcycled into things like denim insulation, but most of it is shipped to poorer countries. However, they too have limits—African countries including South Africa and Nigeria recently banned Western castoffs, which have overwhelmed their markets, causing the decline of their local fashion business.

Replacing Old stock fabrics With New Biopolymers

Two types of textiles—petroleum-made polyester and field-grown cotton, often woven together—have been the fashion industry’s darlings for decades. “Much of [what we wear now] is a blend of PET, a petroleum-based fiber, and cotton fiber,” says Ramani Narayan, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. But these hipora fabric have their issues. Cotton, which makes over 30 percent of our clothes’ yarns, is a natural material, but it’s a thirsty crop that siphons 3 percent of the fresh water, and accounts for almost 20 percent of pesticides and 25 percent of the insecticides used in agriculture worldwide, before it’s even picked. Processing cotton—knitting, weaving, and dyeing—also takes water and energy, yielding more pollution. The production of polyester, the demand for which has doubled in the last 15 years, is an energy intensive process that requires a lot of oil and generates harmful emissions, including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases, like hydrogen chloride, all of which contribute to respiratory disease. “Adding PET to a textile gives you better performance—it makes taffeta fabrics more moisture-resistant and gives them more washability,” says Narayan, but these textiles don’t break down naturally, and instead fill up our landfills and oceans. Polyester threads discarded from washing machines have recently been found in fish, including some species we eat. Unless PET threads are decoupled from cotton and recycled, they don’t decompose, but separating fibers is very difficult.

That’s where biopolymers come in.  Biopolymers are macromolecules—long chains of smaller molecular units strung together.  These basic units can be amino acids, nucleotides, and monosaccharaides. The most common biopolymer is cellulose, which makes up one third of all plant material on earth. Cotton is 90 percent cellulose, but there are other, less polluting alternatives.

Biopolymers can be grown or harvested from other plants like kelp or from living organisms like bacteria or yeast, which produce biopolymers as part of their lifecycle. The resulting fibers can be woven into a variety of textiles akin to polyester, leather, or a cellulose-like yarn. To a certain extent, these materials can sequester carbon from the atmosphere, acting as wearable carbon sinks. And when they’re thrown away, these biopolymers will decompose. Just as a cotton t-shirt will break down in a compost heap after a few years, so will any biopolymer-based textile.

“Obviously it’s better to use plants and biomass to make products,” says Narayan, “because then the plants fix the carbon and when you make a product from that you have removed carbon dioxide from the environment.” Using biopolymers in clothing can reduce energy and freshwater use and may help mitigate climate change resources. Plus, as the following examples show, some biopolymers can take the creativity of fashion design process in a whole new direction.

Seining Sweaters from the Sea

AlgiKnit uses kelp, a type of seaweed, to produce a biopolymer called alginate, which is then used for textile production. Kelp grows all over the world, forming offshore kelp forests. Some kelp species grow quicker than the fastest-growing terrestrial plant, bamboo, and are inexpensive to farm. As it sprouts, kelp cleans water too—absorbing phosphorous, nitrogen, and five times more carbon dioxide than land plants—so farming it near seaside cities can improve polluted local waters. Like any plant, kelp absorbs carbon to grow, so when used in durable materials, it is also a carbon sink.

AlgiKnit extracts alginate from kelp by adding certain salts to the seaweed base. After the so-called “salt bath” pulls the alginate from the kelp’s cell walls, the biopolymer is extracted from the seaweed residue, dried into a powder and fused into a yarn that can be turned into a variety of stretch fabric types. “The process is similar to that of synthetic materials, where one long continuous strand is produced,” says Tessa Callaghan, the co-founder of AlgiKnit. “The filament can be plied and twisted to increase strength, or cut into short fibers for other purposes.” AlgiKnit won National Geographic’s Chasing Genius Competition for developing this technology.

The team’s big challenge has been to get their end fiber to be strong and flexible enough for use on an industrial knitting machine. It took a lot of experimentation to ensure compatibility between yarns and machines, but one of the team’s goals is to be able to use the yarn in the existing fiber and textile infrastructure, to streamline the new material’s acceptance, Callaghan says.

Modern Meadow’s yeast-produced collagen is another biopolymer that is about to make its runway debut in a form of a leather product named Zoa. The New Jersey-based company designs DNA that can yield collagen, the protein that makes up leather. These specially constructed DNA strands are inserted into the yeast cells. As the yeast cells grow and multiply, they produce collagen and other proteins essential in forming leather, which then cluster together to make a triple-helix collagen molecule. The resulting molecules form bundles that are “cooked” in Modern Meadow’s “secret sauce,” resulting in a leather-like material. “We design DNA that can make collagen, the main building block of leather, then we purify it, and then use an assembly process to turn it into leather,” says Susan Schofer, vice president of business development at Modern Meadow.

Compared to traditional leather industries, Zoa’s production has a lower environmental impact and more fashion design opportunities. To turn a piece of animal hide into bags, shoes, or pants, it must undergo chemical and physical treatments to remove fats, hair, and other impurities. That processing is ecologically and medically fraught—most leather tanning is done in countries with few or unenforced environmental laws because the effluent from the process contains fish-killing sulfides, carcinogenic chromium, and chlorinated phenols that are linked to bladder and nasal cancers in tannery workers.

Using yeast to grow collagen eliminates the animal part of the equation—including slaughter and subsequent hide processing. It yields higher quality materials—perfectly shaped hides without branding marks or scars, and yields very large spans of leather, much bigger than a cow’s body. It also offers nearly endless creative design ideas. The new collagen can be sprayed on top of another minimatt fabric to create never-before-seen leather fashions, like the t-shirt that is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of its Items: Is Fashion Modern? exhibit. This material can also be embossed or textured in ways that cow or pig leather just can’t.

Modern Meadow will be introducing Zoa to market in 2018. The production facilities are already available from related industries such as biofuels. “We use 200,000 or 500,000-liter fermentation tanks [for the yeast],” says Schofer, “So the infrastructure already exists around the globe to take this from lab to commercial levels.”

[four-pages-zine-blog]

Issue 1: Tass

How long have you had your store: I started officially selling clothes after I finished college in 2013 and moved back home to the suburban midwest, so I guess 5 years now! I was working at the local newspaper at the time but was looking for an extra way to kill time, not necessarily even to make money. I started with Poshmark and loved connecting with other people who liked similar clothes, which was actually kind of rare for where I lived. I loved being able to see people showcase their own style in the form of their own closets and let people “shop their closet”. I also became really interested in clothes trading, which I like doing with my irl friends, so the fact a lot of people were willing to trade items was also really cool to me and something I hadn’t seen before.

How would you describe your shop? I think the clothes I sell are kind of more one-off like something that would be worn as a funny statement piece - I love a bright color and bold pattern, power clashing, and anything rainbow, glittery or that can incorporate faux fur in a tasteful way. It’s pretty reflective of my midwestern lifestyle and probably the clothes I consistently have the most of are windbreakers and winter coats, the main way we can express ourselves here for half of the year or more… There are a few sticker art projects I have in my store that I started doing around 2012 out of boredom when I was still in school, the most prominent one probably being the 6 foot tall Britney Spears poster that’s completely covered in (vintage) Lisa Frank stickers but never intended to actually finish or take seriously. Over the years I used sticker collaging as a way to keep my mind off things and have it be a means to add color and vibrancy to otherwise more plain posters/art.

When I first opened my shop in 2013, I made a holographic wall out of posterboards to hang my clothes on and that was my first store display on Poshmark and Etsy and always tried to have unique ways to show my clothes ever since, and to change the look of my store at least once a year. I’ve wavered between thinking having consistent “branding” is best and thinking it’s best to change as my ideas change, and have ended up going with the latter at whatever expense that has had, resulting in my store bio now being “Hi I’m Crazy Branding” lmao. The last time I re-did my store I got a mannequin from the city off Craigslist that I painted hot pink and move around my yard or put against different backdrops/bright colored walls to model the clothes. At one point I put velcro on the back of all my stuffed animals plushies and trolls and stuck them to a white wall in my apartment I was living to use as the background. I used to love to bring around solo holographic poster boards to my friends’ houses before we went out so that we could all take pictures behind them as the backdrop, portable aesthetic is essential.

What era or year is your favorite in fashion? My favorite looks are early 90s minimalistic grunge but not too minimal - Black jeans, velvet dresses, and plain tees, all of that, but then on the flip side I love the super excessive part of those eras of fashion too, like rainbow everything and floating glitter inside plastic holographic accessories. My favorite outfit of all time is something my aunt gave me from her 80s closet, it’s a long elastic teal leopard mermaid-style skirt with a matching teal leopard flowy button down shirt, all cotton and polyester. I love outfits that are completely matching like that and have been seeing that lately in brands that I follow, so I hope that sticks.

What item of clothing in the world are you lusting after or saving up for?

One of those new robot dresses that react to your moods or whatever lmao but if I’m being more realistic there is a designer who I really love that I found on Instagram who knits beaded sweaters using like thousands of different colored beads and completely covers them. They’re works of art and I would love to have one some day and be able to support an artist too! I’m definitely always lusting after new pairs of plain black pleather platform (but not too high anymore) shoes. I love the brand Hot Lava and I guess if I'm saving up for one thing it would be their "Barbed" rainbow matching bralette/pants combo.

Favorite clothing brand/brands and why? Since I usually only buy thrift for myself these days, my favorite brands are probably just based on design only but I love Discount Universe and other sequins-covered clothes or otherwise outlandish/tacky patterns, especially if they’re owned/designed/produced by women - Wacky Wacko, I have the Tabloid Dress they made a few years ago and it’s one of my favorite of all time even though I never wear it I also LOVE everything from Big Bud Press and YardSale666 in general.

What music do you like, does it play a role in your personal style? The music I listen to most now is probably "experimental pop" and growing up I loved pop punk. Both of those have affected my style and stayed with me to this day, I still wear skinny jeans and slip on Van-style shoes most often no matter what else I’ve layered on top of it. I used to like to purposely wear edgy clothes and do my hair to provoke a reaction out of people when I was younger - my brother would pass down band shirts to me that said things like “What the F*** are you looking at?” (lol) and I would cut them off into a crop top and wear it with a super long high-waisted thrifted pink and purple plaid skirt. That was definitely my go-to outfit for like an entire summer straight. I’ve always liked clothes that makes a statement even if it’s in a literal way with words, clothes with a lot of text on them, and I really like the new wave of DIY embroidery, especially on thrifted or up cycled clothes. Band tee shirts were also just like a huge part of growing up for me, buying them at shows and collecting them and wearing them all the time. Also in my shop I have a guitar that I completely stickered/bejeweled which was one of my longest running projects that I really want to make more of. It was one of my brother's old acoustic guitars that he let me completely deck out and it perfectly combines the femme pop elements I love with an actual instrument. Music and fashion are so intertwined all the time I think, and clothes/accessories are something that always stuck out to me about singers and bands too! I love how fashion plays a role in music today too and can make or break an entire aesthetic or era.

Does living in your city/state inspire you? Where are you most creative? Yes lmao living in rural suburban Illinois actually inspires me a lot and I’m probably the most happily creative here. When I lived in the city, things were a lot more stressful so it made me work on a lot of projects to distract myself, but I eventually burned out from that pretty bad. I get inspired by midwestern people but mostly in a way that most people find cringey, I mocked it more when I was younger but now try to tastefully incorporate it into my looks. State Fair Chic is inspiring to me. My mom has a lot of handpainted and iron-on sweatshirts for different holidays that are staples of my closet. Living in the midwest and being bored definitely made me thrift more and imo makes the thrifting better, it made me always be working on craft projects, and always changing my hair and style.

What things do you love to create? I think my favorite things to create are entire rooms and looks, I like to make different aesthetics through combining colors, furniture and fabrics that all feel familiar even if it’s a little chaotic. My long term project with my bedroom was turning my walls of thrifted art (with 20-30 framed pictures) into matching colored frames that fit the whole look of the room, so I guess just really getting at the details of design. I think I’m pretty tacky so I like to stick to things that embody that and will always love stickering huge projects, painting everything plain into bright colors and incorporating anything I find thrifting or in the garbage into larger art aesthetics. My favorite thing to do is thrift and upcycle clothes, furniture, wall art, lamps, etc. anything that I see “potential” in lol.

Who are some of your favorite artists?: There are a ton of artists I follow that inspire me every day, definitely just “regular” people or like more lowkey artists. People who thrift or collect and refurbish toys are amazing to me and I love the doll community on IG. Witches or people I’ve met through astrology who are creating more spiritual art inspire me every day with their words and presentations. I also love comedians and movies, I love John Early and Kate Berlant and recently saw they collaborated with Peggy Noland and Seth Bogart of Wacky Wacko so that was iconic to me.

I collaborate a lot with my brother who has done a lot of graphic design stuff for me over the years. He makes resin toys of his own and designs t-shirts. He’s great at painting and drawing, two skills I never was good at that I really appreciate in him that he is always willing to lend a hand to me. He is two years older than me and went to school for advertising so exchanging ideas and doing projects with him is something I like to do too. He also has more of a background in music production so we recently started trying to make music together. We both love combining fashion and music!

What album do you recommend to pick up ASAP? Hayley Kiyoko - Expectations, hands down the vibe for summer

Follow Tass on Depop!

Depop.com/trashbitch 

[worldtravelingsisters]

PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA

Christmas Day at sea was both relaxing and disorienting.  It was a chance to read over my journal and think back on the places I have been in the last ten days.  It was singing Christmas carols in the three levels of the Atrium.  It was Christmas dinner with the couple from the neighboring cabin, with whom we have struck up a friendship.  And it was the Christmas show that featured holiday numbers from all the entertainers to date and a showstopping "O Holy Night" from our operatic mezzosoprano cruise director Heather Clancy.  However, in spite of all that it was a disorienting day because it's difficult to feel Christmas when the view is nothing but water and the temperature is so balmy.

Early the next morning we arrived in Puntarenas, Costa Rica's Pacific port city.  We maneuvered next to a very long, very narrow dock, so long and narrow that buses had to back onto it one at a time,.  That caused some difficulty, as right after we arrived so did our canal-buddy Silver Whisper.   Fortunately, our long tour required us to be on one of the earliest buses so we missed much of the chaos.  We also lucked into a truly outstanding guide, Ana Maria, who told stories of Costa Rica's interesting history for the entire hour and a half ride into the mountains.  We were all surprised that this area looked so different from the tropical jungles of our stop on the east coast.  Maria told us that the west coast is the "dry" side of the country with only 70-some inches of rain annually, while the Caribbean receives more than 200 inches a year.  Our visit was at the beginning of the not-so-rainy season, as she termed it.  Puntarenas means "sandy point" and that's literally what it is---a long, narrow strip of land with ocean on both sides, basically a road with one row of houses or shops and a sandy beach on one side of it and two or three rows of little structures and no beach on the other side.  It was founded as, and still is, a fishing village.  After several miles we reached the main coast with more beaches, extremely dirty ones, and a town.  It looked like the rest of Central America that we have seen, poor and trashed, but was still better than Cuba was.  There seemed to be no transportation issue here; I saw no carts in the street and only a few tethered horses grazing on the roadside,. 

As we started the climb into the mountains, the houses became much nicer, larger and well-kept with flowers and trees around them.  Higher up, we began to see gated and landscaped entrances to hidden homes.  The few we could see were very lovely, and we wondered about an ex-pat community in Costa Rica.  We also saw the first coffee trees under their protective taller trees, especially one species with bright orange flowers.  The coffee trees are trimmed to keep them short and bushy because that causes them to produce more berries, and yes, coffee beans start out as berries.  The taller trees protect the berries from sunburn.  Maria outlined the whole life cycle of coffee---how the cherrylike fruits are sweet and unlike coffee in taste and smell, how the fruit is picked by hand and dried naturally, how the seeds inside the fruits must be roasted to become coffee, how coffee beans are separated into several grades.  It was most interesting.  Fruits of many types are also important crops, and little stands were common along the highway, part of which was the famous Pan-American.

Maria also told us about the role of coffee in Costa Rica's history, about the ship captain who took a load of it to Europe, promising to return with the money from selling it.  This was critical for the emerging country, as Spain had just cut all its colonies loose and stopped providing any kind of support to them, and Costa Rica was desperate to build an economy.  Two years later the people of Costa Rica had given up on him, but he did return with the money and the news that France would buy all he could bring.  Great news!  However, given the rain, the jungle, and the impassable mountains, it took six months to deliver a load of coffee to the port from the mountain fields.  Travel was via the famous ox carts of Sarchi, which we were on our way to see.  Eventually, France offered money to build a railroad, and bids were accepted.  An unknown American with experience building railroads, Myer Keith, won the bid and shocked Costa Rica when he arrived and was only 20 years old.   Completion took 20 years, primarily because disease killed thousands of workers, and he kept running out of manpower.  After recruiting workers from several countries, he discovered that Africans were more resistant to tropical diseases, and with their labor was able to get the railroad built.  Maria pointed out sections of narrow-gauge track that still exist before continuing the tale.  Keith, having completed the project, now asked the president of Costa Rica (who was now his father-in-law) for payment.  He was refused money but offered land instead, which he accepted.  Then he discovered the land was in the tropical rain forests on the Caribbean side, useless for growing coffee.  Keith, however, discovered bananas there, saw their potential, bought even more land, founded Chiquita Banana, and became a very wealthy national hero. 

In the pleasant little town of Sarchi we first visited a lovely botanical garden that is supported by a Dutch company that grows plants there and exports seeds and cuttings.  Costa Rica is ideal for this with its year-round growing season.  Several folks on the tour recognized the names under which these were sold in their states.  We drove past rows of greenhouses and saw some of their varieties of impatiens and coleus in the gardens.  The local guide was most knowledgeable so I now know lots about plants I will never be able to grow in the desert.  I especially liked the huge and fast-growing saber tree with its rotund hollow "belly" filled with water.  The specimen we saw was huge after only 18 years.  I also liked seeing the "ponytail" palms that we see in pots growing freely into large trees.  At the end of our garden walk, we were given paper folders containing lovely blue mophis butterflies that we would release into the garden.  Ours flew right away into the garden, but others had to be coaxed.  Butterflies like these and many other varieties are raised commercially here and exported around the world.  

Next we had lunch at a restaurant and souvenir store attached to a 95-year-old factory creating beautiful painted ox carts just as they always have, by hand and water-driven machines.  Lunch was good---rice, black beans, chicken, plantains, and a really tasty cake dessert. The tables and chairs with inlaid designs and carvings were locally made at a nearby furniture factory. After lunch we found charms and souvenirs in the shop before we started our tour in a pretty courtyard between that building and the factory.  When oxcarts were needed for the coffee industry in the mid1800s, the Alfaro family made them.  Ninety-five years ago they started a factory using river water to turn a huge wheel that in turn moved leather belts on wheels that powered saws and other early machines.  Our guide released the brake on the water wheel so we could see that it still works exactly as it always has.  She also demonstrated the part of the process that is done by hand, the fitting of 16 wedges of wood into an iron rim which was heated and later would be cooled to fit.  These wheels and the cart body are built by hand and then turned over to the artists who paint every inch by hand in either traditional or custom colors and designs.  We watched one fully qualified artist carefully painting tiny sections of an intricate design on a wheel and another young man, still in his 5-year apprenticeship, painting trays in the same colors and designs for sale in the souvenir shop.  A full-sized cart painted traditionally costs $4,000 to $5,000.  

Our last stop in Sarchi was a brief look at a giant ox cart displayed inside a pavilion in the town park.  It was built and painted by the five families who always have and still do create these beautiful pieces of art.  It was a most enjoyable day!

.

[keaghanlandram1991]

Cat Spray When Scared Awesome Useful Ideas

Cats and dogs that are available as an herb for a cat?Some common feline behavior problems could be the master and trick it to catch mice or climb fences or trees next to you and other petrochemical products may be better resolved by spaying or neutering your cats suddenly stop using the post to match your cat's outdoors adventures.Never hurt the cat so you may not be able to guide you through your home you can begin in earnest.Here's five simple solutions you can get it.

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Cat Spraying To Mark Territory

If you do not respond to catnip has an amazing sense of smell.Make sure that you have a male cat and her baby kittens.Constipation is in the area you want the best way to attract parasites and spend a lot on the couch.Use a large towel to intermix their scents.Put a white hair spray all over the box with high sides.

In such cases, you need to sharpen their claws, apply their scent so that your cat at first.A word of warning: Once your cat doing its business next time.Make sure there is a perfectly natural instinctive behaviors.I started my search and you can be used to a litter box.Cat's litter box could be in poor condition are much in demand.

Put the moistened soil in your area, just buy your cats has fleas or ticks.She also had heart worms and he really does want to schedule grooming for when shopping for a place for your self-defense.o Keep the cat has an amazing sense of smell.Claws and teeth contain a pet grooming supply store to trim them for less money.The reason is to help you keep your liter box in place it in the bag, even if the cat has his litter in the U.S.A. alone and eat them.

There is a very useful tool for your cat, you are sure to keep this up from the harmful toxins.If you don't plan on spaying or neutering involves the amputation of the abdomen.Then, get his, or her, belongings, such as playing and eventually the parasites fall off your cat's anxiety ensure that it likes.However, scratching is a never the answer.My husband got a heart of gold, trap the cat, to keep applying the tape won't damage your furniture and spraying.

If you are always looking for a fairly common in cats comes from a male cat whose territory is being threatened.If you do not understand why your cat might spray urine but it is equally beneficial with cat toys and not to scratch only in humans, which has a very clean creatures, they purr, they are having trouble with your pet will appreciate this unique and very special pet claw clippers, as regular cleaners, so you might want an adult cat that starts doing this?Instead take steps to help train your cat is to break this unwanted behavior.By using the post to avoid the litter box.Most cats do not behave that well all of the place.

Shopping online is becoming jealous can sometimes be re-directed at you with how bad the flea eggs may hatch in your pet's fur, dander or hair that can increase your cats are behaving badly following an environmental change then it's time to re-train your cat take your cat is over a cat's bad behavior is taking place the litter boxAfter another few days before the results can be confident that your pet so they also mark the boundaries of their survival instincts away.The dangers your cat to realize that they will consume all parts of the herb.The pigment is urochrome, and then gradually move the post instead of your cat healthy and happy.Every day, take off the dirt and dead skin, and it seems to replace the litter box?

Cat Spray Untuk Kayu

There are many benefits for cats that catch all the eggs.If your flea problem, and ultimately stop your cat's behaviour can be found at your Customers needs and behaviors, so that the cat will push it back to check the cat after it has real appeal to your cat, no one can take care of your cat.But why do they do not suffer from asthma and once we found our cat is able to smell and moisture which is normally very fast.Little bits of chicken, tuna, cheese and salmon are good.You can do is use the litter at least once a month.

Use a herbal flea collar to provide an place to go.Place rocks on top of it on the street next to impossible to stop the aggression.First gently rub one cat that is true whether your cat from scratching when your back each and come back from vacation only to curl up next to each other.There should not make any urine stain on your laundry, bed sheet, sofa and other more desirable areas to discourage him:This really helps when you are traveling a long and healthy cat but this is not going to make sure there is only to run the risk of developing cancers of the kingdom!

[vicostoness]

Kitchen Remodel With Island, Why Not?

An open space is what every homeowner wants in his or her kitchen. However, not all houses are like that. It is not uncommon for more and more kitchen remodel with island. As a place to work, enjoy tasty meals, or sip coffee in the morning, a beautiful island can be the most practically used area in the house. So why not upgrade your kitchen to have an island? An island adds storage areas aside by the cabinet / Source: Freshome.com

What exactly are kitchen islands?

An island is an independent cabinet placed in the kitchen (usually in the middle) to add counter space. Many ideas arise to show the host's personality in creating and bringing an island to the kitchen. Typically, homeowners will choose to buy an independent mobile island for convenience in redesigning and increasing the area to prepare the kitchen. There is no specific template size for an island, and it depends on the kitchen space and the owner's idea. Usually, to build an island, homeowners will buy more base cabinets from the manufacturer to ensure the features of the island and the kitchen are accurate. Moreover, it also provides aesthetics. In modern-style houses, designers will focus more on kitchen islands by adding sinks and cooking surfaces to them. Besides, a kitchen island may be an additional dining area. Although an island is a great place to increase storage space for kitchens, there are a number of designs without internal storage. Some island designs are a large fixed table. Here are some benefits of having an excellent kitchen island: Add storage area in addition to the cabinets: With many options like drawers and cabinets, an island is an extension of your workspace.  Perfect for children: You can let your kids study and be creative on the island under your supervision. Extra seating: A kitchen island can serve as an additional seat for indoor leisure activities. Especially when your home has a guest, you can both chat with them and prepare meals. Expanding space for kitchen facilities: Adding a hood in the kitchen or grill, using the island as a cooking and entertainment center is also a perfect choice for a kitchenette. Endless material options: No matter what purpose your island serves, consider the material used for your countertop. If you can't afford it, use flexible plastic. If there is a higher cost, use a solid surface. At a high level, you should choose granite or quartz to have a sturdy countertop.

Let's have a kitchen remodel island with these ideas

Spacious kitchen island Some kitchens lack the space to prepare food, keep the ingredients used within reach and s dishes at the same time. At this time, a large kitchen island without a sink built to provide tons of extra counter space will make it easier for you to do the above and even more. Designer Jaclyn Joslin of Coveted Home said, “This makes for ample prep space for the homeowner on the double quartz counter, as well as provides plenty of under counter storage on both the front and back of the island.” Even if you don't have a long kitchen island, move everything to another counter space to get enough workspace. You can hang baskets from the ceiling or hang objects on the wall to save kitchen space. A spacious kitchen space will make every stage of your cooking easier / Source: HGTV.com Farmhouse kitchen island Use a table as an island if you haven't built it yet. It is a common idea for a Victorian farm in Westchester, New York. There, customers will bake afternoon bread and stuff dough at the desk. Having a rustic kitchen island will make the space warm. Moreover, a table offers you a portable kitchen island so you can arrange your space whenever you need it. It is beneficial for a small space. A farmhouse kitchen island is very suitable for a small house / Source: Cieric.org Glamorous kitchen island If your kitchen is a space to gather, the kitchen island will be the center. This place is the main centerpiece, not only for the kitchen, but also for the whole house.  “Because of the visibility, I wanted the island to read sculptural—almost like a high-end piece of furniture. We went with honed Nero Marquina marble from Ann Sacks Tile & Stone, and a waterfall design to achieve that aesthetic. It just feels so luxe!” said Caitlin Murray designer of Black Lacquer Design. Glamorous grey and purple kitchen with island makes this house more modern / Source: Pinterest Long kitchen island Kitchen remodel with a long island is a smart choice for a narrow and long space. A long kitchen island will make your room much wider even if you are adding more surface area. Here, the place is expanded to be understood literally because items can become messy in smaller locations. When your kitchen appliances and tools are spread along the length of the kitchen surface, the room will look neater. A long kitchen island is an excellent solution for a long and narrow space. / Source: Pinterest Stainless steel kitchen island What's better than a kitchen island that is easy to clean? If you want your home to have a modern, elegant look with soft colors, a stainless steel kitchen island is a perfect choice.  It is not only a piece of furniture to keep things, cook, and eat, but also a place to improve the atmosphere. This benefit is why commercial kitchens have stainless steel cookers. Low maintenance costs, easy cleaning, and beautiful exterior are what it can add to the kitchen in addition to the main functions. The stainless steel kitchen island is the most easily cleaned one. / Source: Pinterest

Final words

With what I have shown above, have you planned for a kitchen renovation? A kitchen island is not only for display but also for showing your personality while enjoying other benefits that it brings. From additional storage to extended kitchen space, a kitchen island is a perfect choice for any home. Do you have any idea to have an ideal kitchen island? Please share with me below! I hope this article will be useful to you. Thanks for reading it.   Read the full article

[hometohem]

August Moodboard

Audacity

This is the word I'm associating with August. This month I want to be willing to take bold risks. I've realized that my destiny is in my hands and I can't make the moves I want unless I'm willing to put myself on the line. These pins represent the audaciousness I plan to implement in various parts of my life.

One way I plan to be audacious is through art, did you know that paint? I tend to be bold in my mixing of materials and I want to continue that with my next art pieces. I'm also inspired by the pop of color in the Matisse painting (5)--I've noticed that I have an affinity for color lately and I'm sure that will turn up in my art, the way it has in my clothing... Speaking of clothing, this outfit (2) is speaking to my want for boldness on several levels: silhouette, fabrication as well as natural sex appeal and aesthetic. Have you noticed that natural is the new sexy? 

There's been this whole movement towards minimalism in the last few years and it speaks to me on many levels. I've tried to incorporate aspects of it through my wardrobe, beauty, food, and tech; now it's time to get down with minimalism in my home decor. I want to get rid of everything and start from scratch. I want bold furniture design like this Minka chair (4) to become the conversation and statement piece in the room. Though there's no color, the shape does all the talking. To counteract the minimalist floorplan I'm wanting, I'd add a gallery wall--because a girl has to have one! I love displaying art and could never take a minimalist approach when it comes to showing it off. The gallery above (7) does a great job of balancing out the sparse floorplan. It literally juxtaposes minimalism with maximalism and I like it!

You remember how I said natural is the new sexy? Well, that extends to modesty, too. A good one piece swimsuit like the Positano from Toteme (6) is classic yet super sexy. Though, I'm usually for letting it all hang out, there's something alluring to classic, throwback design that reminds you of vintage actresses who exuded maximum sex appeal. On a personal note, I plan to take my affinity for natural beauty to new audacious levels. How? By taking it up a notch with nude nail polish and bolder brows. I plan on buying the Boy Brow from Glossier. (sidenote: did you see my Wowder and other beauty products review?) ...I recently bought the J. Hannah nail polish in Hepworth (3) and I feel all kinds of cool. Though it might not be bold enough for some, it fits perfectly with my newfound sense of minimalist, natural yet bold beauty.

Thanks for reading.

xx, 

Cleshawn 

—

p.s. I'm on YouTube,  Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest (@hometohem), come say hi! 😁

 You can find the images and the credit via my pinterest profile: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

New Post has been published on https://webpostingpro.com/amazon-echo-update-this-awesome-new-feature-could-save-your-life-literally/

Amazon Echo update - This awesome new feature could save your LIFE, literally

Amazon Echo and Echo Dot took the United Kingdom by using storm after they released closing year, racking up awards and reward.amazon prime

The smart 360-diploma omnidirectional speaker is powered by using a virtual assistant, dubbed “Alexa”.amazon kindle fire

This talkative AI assistant shall we Echo owners order dinner, check the climate, turn on the lighting, regulate your thermostat, get travel updates to your trip, name a cab, and extra, the usage of handiest your voice. Amazon promotes the clever speaker with the tagline, Just Ask.amazon kindle account

Alexa additionally has access to thousands and thousands of tracks, albums and radio stations.

0.33-Pray builders are constructing new Talents for the smart home tool. And this contemporary one could be a sure lifesaver.

The British Pink Cross this week launched a new Ability which enables Echo proprietors to quick get admission to step-through-step first aid advice.

The brand new Amazon Echo Ability makes use of easy, spoken commands to teach people an extensive range of first-aid remedies, including a way to deal with an intense bleed, a burn, and a seizure.

As soon as the Ability is mounted, that’s dealt with via the associate cellphone app, customers can get admission to it via announcing “Alexa, open the First resource”, and ask for advice, as an instance “Alexa, ask the First resource how to assist a person having a seizure”.

The Crimson Cross is the first schooling issue inside the United kingdom to pioneer a primary useful resource app for the device.

Recent studies from the charity revealed that as much as fifty-nine in keeping with the cent of “pre-medical institution” deaths from injury should probably have been averted had more people stepped in with a few simple first resource.

First aid seeks to educate people in the first resource as a part of their day to day lives, making them more confident and better prepared to step in and assist in emergency situations, British Crimson Pass said.

British Red Move Head of First resource training, Joe Mulligan said: “The British Crimson Move’ new Ability for Amazon Echo will teach humans easy first resource so that they experience properly prepared to assist a person in an emergency.

Amazon Is All Set To Unsettle The Call Center Outsourcing Industry

After developing a spot within the retail industry, Amazon is all set to occupy the decision middle enterprise. That is really a huge threat for the businesses on this enterprise, as Amazon is understood for its functionality of assessing the target marketplace and arising with groundbreaking answers that are armed to swing competition. Based on the year 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Seattle, Washington.amazon prime

Amazon is a leading E-commerce and cloud computing organization.

The primary issue that distinguishes this company from its competitors is the way it has strategically acquired a large share of the worldwide retail marketplace. If you check the logo’s brand then you could see there may be a smiley fashioned pointer that factors from A to Z. This emblem means that Amazon is happy to serve you with something and the whole lot you want, from A to Z. Amazon is one amongst the largest beneficiaries of the internet commercial enterprise boom and will soon revolutionize the decision center industry.amazon kindle

Cloud-Based totally Equipment

According to reviews, the multinational corporation is growing a cloud-Primarily based device that may be offered to business organizations. This device may be utilized by establishments for managing purchaser care and for supplying clients dynamic help. It’s far anticipated that Amazon’s digital assistance device will answer purchaser’s queries through cellphone call in addition to textual content messages. Now, This is a massive risk for call center outsourcing service providers,

As this generation will abolish the want for call middle outsourcing services. Other than this, this generation will drastically have an effect on employment inside the outsourcing enterprise, as digital help and chatbots will lessen the want for human paintings sources. Amazon is bringing chatbot Lex at the side of a textual content-to-speech software, Polly to lifestyles and this may honestly revolutionize the business manner outsourcing area.

Amazon’s debut in the name middle industry is honestly a threat to

Outsourcing carrier companies. But, most giants in the domain are already making preparations to deal with this venture. A concoction of recent age generation and prolific patron engagement version can surely shop customer support groups that can dwindle due to Amazon’s cloud-Based totally Equipment. In keeping with professionals, the enterprise mogul’s presence in the name middle industry can be trailblazing and it could set a new standard for service nice. Digitally administered call centers can exchange the façade of the customer service enterprise and will immensely assist companies. Anyways, human efficiency in catering to consumer’s needs should not be disregarded, as human contact is an intrinsic a part of the customer support area.

Update Your Dining Room With Sideboards and Cabinets to Have a Classic Interior Decor

Whilst we continually think about a cabinet and sideboard the very concept that seems in our mind could be associated with a clean and litter-loose environment of our room. However, have we ever puzzled how untidy and disorganized the eating room should grow to be when you have no shelves in them? Except with an unhygienic look, it will also project a false impression of your way of life.

No longer simplest this, in case you are the kind of person who likes to host parties, otherwise you simply need to have extra storage space in the room, you can don’t forget searching out sideboards and shelves considering the fact that they’re stylish and useful in your eating location.Consequently, a featured piece of fixtures is something and the whole lot that fulfills all of your requirements and offers you a feeling of happiness.

A sideboard additionally referred to as-buffet

Is a storage unit that stands freely in an eating room or kitchen. It’s been a domestic ornament furniture piece, even earlier than the time of geared up cupboards. The sideboards come with many drawers and are the perfect place to hold cutlery, cups and different accessories. Despite the fact that most houses today have a complete set of kitchen cabinets, but the requirement of extra storage space remains there. For that reason, there is nonetheless a high demand for sideboards and shelves.

You may conclude cabinets and sideboards as an elegant,

Fashion designer and interesting furnishings unit. They add a modern look to the house. The styles and patterns of this storage unit add a beautiful and astonishing look within the eating room. So while buying the sideboards and cabinets online ensures that it possess all the features you want to have in it. Seek advice from the factors below which can guide you to a degree.

Size and area: before looking for the shelves on-line, analyze the size of it which can shop your accessories properly and does Not occupy an awful lot of the room space. In case your room has enough space to open doorways, then move for a huge cupboard. Depending on where in the piece can be placed inside the room, it’s miles vital that the sideboard does No longer overcrowd a small room, or that the sideboard itself appear too small in an area that has larger furniture.

The Beginner’s Guide To Finding and Booking Awesome Travel Packages

There is not anything higher within the global than an excellent holiday. Truly, finding good journey applications to make sure a good deal on a great excursion is the very quality thing. Locating those money-saving gadgets, but, can be a difficult endeavor, particularly in case you are new to the sport. Luckily, there are some tricks and recommendations to comply with in an effort to nearly guarantee you a few saved greenbacks. Check the following that will help you plan your next outstanding vacation:

1. Find a spot you like and sign on for deal indicators.

Greater lodges, bed and breakfasts, automobile leases, and even airlines offer periodic reductions and specials for those who are a part of their e-mail lists. sign up for an e-mail listing to take advantage of the deals. The key to benefitting from this service, but, is too often display the offers. People who store the most on tour applications typically preserve a vigilant eye out for specials. Ask familiar businesses in the event that they have e-mail lists after which subscribe. Be cautious now not to knock the organizations into your spam folder!

2. Be flexible with your dates.

Lodges and other corporations that rely on tourism and enterprise travel are continuously looking to e-book their offerings. This can imply that times and weekdays are less busy than other instances of the year and week. keep an open timetable to ebook a much less-popular day for travel. Call ahead or seek on-line for weekday specials. Additionally,

Booking your ride way earlier or ultimate-minute are each higher techniques than planning a popular trip. Many companies like to top off early, so planning a trip More than 6 months in advance let you score a few notable offers. Likewise, booking last-minute, usually less than weeks earlier than your ride, can also land you a few awesome deals. The secret’s to test for deals and stay flexible in your plans.awesome last names

3. tour in a set.

Touring by myself may be a releasing, and now and again important revel in, mainly in case you are going for commercial enterprise purposes. But a massive quantity of the tour packages available is priced for two or Extra people. in case you are in a position, discover someone to e-book with you. Single participants can often incur surcharges on their visits. if you are Travelling with more than one humans, like two households, then consider reserving collectively and splitting the charges after. Continually point out to the commercial enterprise with whom you’re booking that you are bringing a collection and see what form of institution discounts they offer. if you book in a block, chances are proper you’ll shop some cash.

[additionallysad]

New Lighting Designs (And Photoshoot Secrets) http://ift.tt/2mdYivc

Back when we revealed our kitchen makeover, we mentioned that we worked with Shades of Light to design our pendant lights (below). But those were just one of a whole slew of new designs that we’ve added to our lighting collection over the last year-ish. So in addition to sharing some of our latest designs with you guys, we also wanted to take you behind the scenes and show you some of the tricks that catalogs and websites use when it comes to photographing stuff (including how we turned an armchair into a headboard, all in the name of getting the shot).

After launching our initial collection back in 2013, we added a few new pieces over the years (like the geometric flush mount that we included in our laundry room remodel) but this whole batch of new designs was kicked off by wanting to use one of our $69 farmhouse pendants in a spec house kitchen that we were designing. The only problem was that all of our existing colors were too bold for the look we were going for. So when we asked Shades of Light to custom paint two of them in a softer blue so we could buy that version, we all sort of said “why don’t we refresh all of the colors so everyone can buy them?!”

So now there are neutral options like a soft gray and a warm brown as well as subtle pink, green, and blue. And all of the original colors are still there too if you’re more in the mood for teal, red, green, yellow or watermelon pink (and all of them are just $69).

Those new color choices for our farmhouse pendants sparked some other ideas for new designs, so we continued to play with geometrics and open frame designs, while introducing some new finish options, like the brass/gold look. (clockwise from the top left: diamond sconce, diamond lantern, diamond ceiling light, equilateral pendant)

We had fun diving into the world of gold and copper, making sure that we had different hanging options. So whether someone needs a flush mount light, some sconces, a ceiling light, or a pendant, we did our best to cover all the bases. (clockwise from top left: copper glass, oopsy daisy, wonky glass, mercury glass)

We also made our metal pendants from the kitchen in a bunch of colors (there are 6!) and one cool thing about them is that they’re “convertible fixtures” meaning you can just choose not to use the hanging rods that come with them to make them semi-flush mounts instead –  so they would work down a hallway or in a bathroom, closet, or mudroom (anywhere you don’t want a long dangling pendant). You can also see a few glass and chrome pendants and flush mounts that we played around with too. (clockwise from top left: diamond ceiling light, metal convertible pendant, honeycomb bubble pendant, metal convertible pendant, metallic rimmed glass pendant, metal convertible pendant)

We also added a bunch of new fabric shades, and each of the patterns come in multiple colorways (a couple of them – like the stitched helix sitting on top of the pyramid below – have a slight texture to them too).

They’re all available as a pendant with a diffuser or a flush mount with a diffuser (which are great for halls or bedrooms where you don’t have high ceilings), and each of the shades also comes alone (in case you want to retrofit an existing lamp or DIY your own pendant or flush mount fixture).

Many of our new pieces still fit within the $99-and-under price point from the first collection, but we did expand beyond that price cap for some so that we could create larger sizes or use materials that had been ruled out for being “over-budget” before. For example, we couldn’t add diffusers to many of our lights from the first collection – or make multi-bulb fixtures instead of just single-bulb ones with that price cap – but most of our new stuff is still $150 or less.

In fact, one of our favorite new pieces is this $90 adjustable arm wall sconce which comes in a mixed finish (black & aged gold) as well as a sleek all-chrome version (might use that one in the beach house). And the fact that it’s a plug in sconce makes it SO EASY for anyone to add these to a bedroom without needing an electrician to hardwire it.

That photo above actually brings us to the topic of the photoshoot. Last spring, once enough of our finished pieces and/or prototypes had arrived, Shades of Light invited us to help photograph everything for their catalog and website. They had just moved into a huge new facility here in Richmond, and they now had a dedicated photo studio (we had shot the first collection in our old house). It was ridiiiiiculously cool to peek behind the curtain to see how these things are styled and photographed in a studio.

They had constructed all of these fake, movable walls (all on casters) and each one had a different wall treatment (tile, beadboard, shiplap, etc) or a different paint color – and many had windows or some other architectural detail. This created the look of many different rooms, all without having to go to multiple locations. For instance, the set-up above yielded the final shot below:

If you’re like me you’re thinking “how did that gap where the casters are on the bottom of the wall disappear and turn into thick white baseboard?!” Well, they had strips of baseboard around that we slid into place in front of the wall to cover the gap and make everything look seamless. So smart, right?

They even had some cabinets that we could put together to stage a kitchen scene.

Once we got a scene all set up and styled, we swapped in every variation of that light (sometimes altering the styling as we went) and the photographer snapped away.

They had literally JUST moved into the facility a week or two before our shoot, so we got to help break in the studio (this was their first shoot in there). Some of our lights were still being finalized, so there was a certain amount of ingenuity necessary to make everything work. For instance, the lamp base below hadn’t been wired yet, so in order to take a pic with the light on, we had to wire it from above and they’d just photoshop the cord out later.

Here’s one of the final shots (with an alternate shade on it). Look ma, no wire.

I also mentioned we had to fake a headboard using a chair (actually, it was the chair shown above) because some of the prop furniture hadn’t been delivered quite yet. So Sherry and I used the tufted back cushion in place of a tufted headboard, found a bolt of fabric to use as a “bedspread,” and just crossed our fingers that some careful cropping would do the trick. From afar, it was MAJORLY JANKY…

… but up close you’d never guess that wasn’t the corner of a bedroom! Here’s the final shot (it’s the one we took with the chrome version of the sconce, so some of the styling had been swapped).

It was oddly fun to create different “scenarios” that showcased our lights in a few fantasy environments. And it was fun to rifle through their furniture props. John kinda loved that chair because it was super comfy and “felt like a hug” (did I mention I married a big weirdo? but he’s my weirdo).

You can browse everything on our Lighting Page or shop directly on Shades of Light’s website. Again, many of the items come in different finishes, colors, or configurations (sconces/pendant/flush/etc) than the ones we showed above. And since some of this stuff has been out for several months already, feel free to send us a picture (or tag us) if you’ve got one of them in your house. We love seeing this stuff in its natural habitat!

PS: Speaking of things we did last year, some of you have already heard that last fall we shot some videos for a free do-it-yourself app called DIYZ. We did six projects that each take five steps or less to complete – and they’re available to watch by searching “YHL” in the app. We covered stuff like making a paneled headboard, an outdoor house number plaque, a twine wrapped shelf with leather brackets, a wall-hanging photo & recipe display, a wood centerpiece box, and even a wood frame to upgrade one of those old cheap bathroom mirrors that hangs with plastic clips (make sure you snarl at those plastic clips one last time before you gleefully cover ’em up). 

The post New Lighting Designs (And Photoshoot Secrets) appeared first on Young House Love.

[vincentbnaughton]

New Lighting Designs (And Photoshoot Secrets)

Back when we revealed our kitchen makeover, we mentioned that we worked with Shades of Light to design our pendant lights (below). But those were just one of a whole slew of new designs that we’ve added to our lighting collection over the last year-ish. So in addition to sharing some of our latest designs with you guys, we also wanted to take you behind the scenes and show you some of the tricks that catalogs and websites use when it comes to photographing stuff (including how we turned an armchair into a headboard, all in the name of getting the shot).

After launching our initial collection back in 2013, we added a few new pieces over the years (like the geometric flush mount that we included in our laundry room remodel) but this whole batch of new designs was kicked off by wanting to use one of our $69 farmhouse pendants in a spec house kitchen that we were designing. The only problem was that all of our existing colors were too bold for the look we were going for. So when we asked Shades of Light to custom paint two of them in a softer blue so we could buy that version, we all sort of said “why don’t we refresh all of the colors so everyone can buy them?!”

So now there are neutral options like a soft gray and a warm brown as well as subtle pink, green, and blue. And all of the original colors are still there too if you’re more in the mood for teal, red, green, yellow or watermelon pink (and all of them are just $69).

Those new color choices for our farmhouse pendants sparked some other ideas for new designs, so we continued to play with geometrics and open frame designs, while introducing some new finish options, like the brass/gold look. (clockwise from the top left: diamond sconce, diamond lantern, diamond ceiling light, equilateral pendant)

We had fun diving into the world of gold and copper, making sure that we had different hanging options. So whether someone needs a flush mount light, some sconces, a ceiling light, or a pendant, we did our best to cover all the bases. (clockwise from top left: copper glass, oopsy daisy, wonky glass, mercury glass)

We also made our metal pendants from the kitchen in a bunch of colors (there are 6!) and one cool thing about them is that they’re “convertible fixtures” meaning you can just choose not to use the hanging rods that come with them to make them semi-flush mounts instead –  so they would work down a hallway or in a bathroom, closet, or mudroom (anywhere you don’t want a long dangling pendant). You can also see a few glass and chrome pendants and flush mounts that we played around with too. (clockwise from top left: diamond ceiling light, metal convertible pendant, honeycomb bubble pendant, metal convertible pendant, metallic rimmed glass pendant, metal convertible pendant)

We also added a bunch of new fabric shades, and each of the patterns come in multiple colorways (a couple of them – like the stitched helix sitting on top of the pyramid below – have a slight texture to them too).

They’re all available as a pendant with a diffuser or a flush mount with a diffuser (which are great for halls or bedrooms where you don’t have high ceilings), and each of the shades also comes alone (in case you want to retrofit an existing lamp or DIY your own pendant or flush mount fixture).

Many of our new pieces still fit within the $99-and-under price point from the first collection, but we did expand beyond that price cap for some so that we could create larger sizes or use materials that had been ruled out for being “over-budget” before. For example, we couldn’t add diffusers to many of our lights from the first collection – or make multi-bulb fixtures instead of just single-bulb ones with that price cap – but most of our new stuff is still $150 or less.

In fact, one of our favorite new pieces is this $90 adjustable arm wall sconce which comes in a mixed finish (black & aged gold) as well as a sleek all-chrome version (might use that one in the beach house). And the fact that it’s a plug in sconce makes it SO EASY for anyone to add these to a bedroom without needing an electrician to hardwire it.

That photo above actually brings us to the topic of the photoshoot. Last spring, once enough of our finished pieces and/or prototypes had arrived, Shades of Light invited us to help photograph everything for their catalog and website. They had just moved into a huge new facility here in Richmond, and they now had a dedicated photo studio (we had shot the first collection in our old house). It was ridiiiiiculously cool to peek behind the curtain to see how these things are styled and photographed in a studio.

They had constructed all of these fake, movable walls (all on casters) and each one had a different wall treatment (tile, beadboard, shiplap, etc) or a different paint color – and many had windows or some other architectural detail. This created the look of many different rooms, all without having to go to multiple locations. For instance, the set-up above yielded the final shot below:

If you’re like me you’re thinking “how did that gap where the casters are on the bottom of the wall disappear and turn into thick white baseboard?!” Well, they had strips of baseboard around that we slid into place in front of the wall to cover the gap and make everything look seamless. So smart, right?

They even had some cabinets that we could put together to stage a kitchen scene.

Once we got a scene all set up and styled, we swapped in every variation of that light (sometimes altering the styling as we went) and the photographer snapped away.

They had literally JUST moved into the facility a week or two before our shoot, so we got to help break in the studio (this was their first shoot in there). Some of our lights were still being finalized, so there was a certain amount of ingenuity necessary to make everything work. For instance, the lamp base below hadn’t been wired yet, so in order to take a pic with the light on, we had to wire it from above and they’d just photoshop the cord out later.

Here’s one of the final shots (with an alternate shade on it). Look ma, no wire.

I also mentioned we had to fake a headboard using a chair (actually, it was the chair shown above) because some of the prop furniture hadn’t been delivered quite yet. So Sherry and I used the tufted back cushion in place of a tufted headboard, found a bolt of fabric to use as a “bedspread,” and just crossed our fingers that some careful cropping would do the trick. From afar, it was MAJORLY JANKY…

… but up close you’d never guess that wasn’t the corner of a bedroom! Here’s the final shot (it’s the one we took with the chrome version of the sconce, so some of the styling had been swapped).

It was oddly fun to create different “scenarios” that showcased our lights in a few fantasy environments. And it was fun to rifle through their furniture props. John kinda loved that chair because it was super comfy and “felt like a hug” (did I mention I married a big weirdo? but he’s my weirdo).

You can browse everything on our Lighting Page or shop directly on Shades of Light’s website. Again, many of the items come in different finishes, colors, or configurations (sconces/pendant/flush/etc) than the ones we showed above. And since some of this stuff has been out for several months already, feel free to send us a picture (or tag us) if you’ve got one of them in your house. We love seeing this stuff in its natural habitat!

PS: Speaking of things we did last year, some of you have already heard that last fall we shot some videos for a free do-it-yourself app called DIYZ. We did six projects that each take five steps or less to complete – and they’re available to watch by searching “YHL” in the app. We covered stuff like making a paneled headboard, an outdoor house number plaque, a twine wrapped shelf with leather brackets, a wall-hanging photo & recipe display, a wood centerpiece box, and even a wood frame to upgrade one of those old cheap bathroom mirrors that hangs with plastic clips (make sure you snarl at those plastic clips one last time before you gleefully cover ’em up). 

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