I am feeling cheerful today. I credit many things, but here are a few things I’ve thought of today with particular cheer:
1. Bird earrings. I got these at Target back in August. I wasn’t even going to buy them, but I had William with me and he was making the bird be all cute and hop around and look me in the eye and so forth, so I bought them. The next day I went back and bought more pairs to give as gifts.
 |
| hop, hop |
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| buy me |
2. Store-brand Moose Tracks ice cream. I was complaining on Twitter that I was disappointed in all the Breyer’s specialty flavors that looked so good but didn’t measure up, and Doing My Best said her store brand’s Moose Tracks was really, really superior. I have enough faith in her ice cream judgement to get a box of my own store-brand Moose Tracks, even though it was unlikely to be the same store brand. (But I remember reading somewhere that a lot of store brands are filled by the same manufacturer, so I had hope.) IT IS SO DELICIOUS. I’ve had two boxes of it now, and I didn’t buy more on this last shopping trip because I’d made myself feel sick having “just a little more” of the last box—and now I regret not getting it. I could be making myself feel sick RIGHT THIS MINUTE on tiny peanut butter cups and fudge (not fudge SAUCE, but FUDGE).
3. Pink zinnias.
A patch of some vegetable in the garden failed to thrive, so Paul pulled it up. Then he impulsively put a pack of zinnia seeds over that patch, and they succeeded to thrive. GOODNESS, didn’t they! And they seem to last way longer than they should in a vase. (That “vase” is an empty bottle from one of those frappuccino drinks they sell in four-packs. They make great vases.) Next year we’re going to grow assorted-color zinnias.
4. Snyder’s Chedder Cheese Pretzel Pieces.
It’s like someone broke a bunch of big pretzels into chunks and pieces, and then dusted them with an intoxicating cheese powder—similar to Cheetos powder or Kraft mac-and-cheese powder, and just a LITTLE bit spicy. SO YUMMY. Paul wrinkled his nose at the sight of them; then took one and ate it suspiciously; then took several more and watched the bag longingly as I took it away. MINE.
…I’m going to have to get a little bowl of them to eat while I write the rest of this.
5. Light pink Converse One-Star.
They are looking kind of grubby because I wore them pretty much every day all summer. They were an impulse purchase (70% off at Target, should I get them?, no, yes, no, yes, no, well I’ll just put them in the cart and think about it, okay I can always return them) and I LOVE THEM. I bought a second pair in orchid (a medium-light purpley color) but I haven’t worn those yet.
6. Prell.
Paul was out of shampoo, and he was trying very hard to work up the enthusiasm to respond to my incredibly boring questions about whether he’d been happy with that kind or did he want to try something new. He said the only time he’d ever had any sort of shampoo preference was when it was Prell, and that was just because it was fun to watch the bubble go up and down in the bottle. Good enough for me, and I enjoy a quest.
Target didn’t have it, so I checked our grocery store, which seems to cater to “people complaining that they can’t find such-and-such anymore.” Sure enough, they had it. I think it’s amusing that there’s a picture of a bubble on the bottle, like Prell KNOWS that’s how we all think of it. It’s fun to be using the same shampoo we both used in our childhoods.
I love those earrings so much that I bought all the pairs I could find, sent a pair each to my sisters, and have the extra pairs in my jewelry box just waiting for special gift-receivers.
I love the Prell quest story – I’m the same way about a quest.
I just read your spectrum,I feel the same way about the dentist, they always ask me when I’m going to get braces and I always say “when I have the money to pay for it”… as long as we’re alive, I think we’re doing ok.
My capcha was 5 arcuiro, I am not a robot.
Watch out or Prell if you color your hair. It will strip your color out. My father used Prell when I was a kid ( I still remember the smell!) and one of us damn kids knocked the bottle over, and of course never cleaned up the resultant puddle on the floor of the bathtub. The next day when my mom took her shower, she rinsed off the shampoo, and there was a perfectly clean spot under where the shampoo had been! So we used to clean our tub with it.
PS I heard the hair color thing from a hairdresser, I didn’t draw that conclusion from the tub cleaning story, that was just supporting evidence! The hairdresser recommends Prell if you don’t like your hair color in order to soften it up.
We grow zinnias every summer. I love them because they’re so colorful and they shoot up so high and in our climate (Maryland) they last until November some years. They are also very low maintenance flowers in general but for some reasons ours just didn’t take off this year. I planted maybe twenty and I have two to show for it (plus a volunteer from last year that’s growing outside the bed). I think it was the slugs. The slugs ate everything this spring.
I vaguely recall Prell. Good stuf, IIRC. My current favorite thing is an etsy shop where the owner sells handmade wooden toys. He’s been doing it for 20 years and the toys look amazing and great quality. That’s what our kiddos and some of our grow-up kiddos are getting for Christmas this year!
Prell, the scent of my childhood! Like Paul, I used to love to watch the bubble go up and down. Now I must find some!
Those earrings are adorable.
I don’t remember Prell. I DO remember shampoo called “Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific.” I wish they still made that. I want terrific smelling hair.
Your glasses make me cheerful. They’re pretty.
I love the bird earrings, but want them to be owls, because that would be cute. Converse are awesome, I have the orchid plaid, pink plaid with sparkly thread and black ones with multicolored shiney circles. Now, I am looking to see if we have ice cream.
Lippy- I have been on the lookout for THE RIGHT owl earrings. So far I have not found THE RIGHT ones. BUT SOMEDAY.
My daughter LOVES owls and fir her birthday I bought her three pair of owll earrings. Two were from Target. Bronze with shiny bits. She mixes them up so she is wearing two different ones each time- very cute! But now I am on a mission to find ones like your birdies!
Love the birdies! I am now on the lookout for a similar pair for myself.
Doing My Best is an ice cream AUTHORITY, and though I’m off the dairy I’m having dangerous thoughts about that ice cream right now.
I love the Frappuccino bottles as vases. So cute. I used to hoard them for that purpose when I grew flowers for cutting.
I LOVE those bird earrings! They are so cute and so perfect for you! Swistle blue!
We’ve had really good luck with Zinnias coming back year after year….wait. That might not be luck so much as “children pulling the flowers apart when they dry up and scattering the seeds everywhere”. They’ll even come up in the lawn!
Phew! I’m glad my ice cream reputation is still intact ;-). I especially love that fudge ribbon: firm enough to chew but it melts quickly; sweet but a little salty. I may have bought a few *cough* cartons the last time my store had it on sale…in fact, I think I’ll go see if I misplaced one in the freezer….
I looooove the Snyder’s honey mustard pretzel bits–never tried the cheddar though. Seriously addictive.
Lots of happy things.
For Nicole:
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/Health_&_Beauty/Hair_Care/Shampoos_&_Conditioners/Gee,_Your_Hair_Smells_Terrific/54234
Although, having posted that, I looked carefully, and GYHST costs $15 now. Yikes.
I like all of this very much.
I have a spare pair of owl earrings if you’d like them (they came as part of a 3-pack I bought because I liked the other 2 pairs, so they’ve just been sitting there unworn). I’ll try to remember to take a photo tonight!
I love this post! I think I might have to try Prell next time we run out of shampoo.
Love those earrings!! They are so YOU!
On the topic of store-brand ice cream, if you ever spot a flavor called something like Salted Caramel Swirl, BUY IT NOW. Faintly caramelly-flavored vanilla-y ice cream with swirlies of salty caramel and chocolate-covered caramel candies. So much nom, especially on a warm brownie…
OH oh oh! I know a place where you call can get cute owl earrings. They have really cool jewelry and it’s all handmade. I’ve ordered several things there over the years. Only downside is that shipping can take a bit because it’s coming from Canada. Any-hoot (haha like an owl!) I bought my sister owl earrings here and she loves them. So it’s http://www.tweakboutiqueonline.net and I hope that you all find something you love too.
DB
My pattern of indecision at Target is the same.
1 – LOVE zinnias! We planted some for the first time this last year.
2 – now I really want ice cream.
I saw those pretzels and said to my littlest, “Swistle says, we must try.” They are great and are in my big kids lunches today as a surprise. I expect my oldest to come home and gush about how delicious they are.
I love these types of posts so much! They make me want to shop, and are a fun peek into your style. It makes me happy that you are a fellow converse lover.
I love those earrings!
I’m wearing my $10 clearance Target one stars RIGHT NOW. And want your pinkish pair too.
Watching the bubble? What is this about?
Jo Ro- The Prell bottles are clear, and the Prell is green, and the thickness of the shampoo is exactly right to make a lovely green slow-moving bubble go up and down in the shampoo as you turn the bottle upside-down and rightside-up. I must have done it a million times as a child, and so did Paul as a child—so it’s frozen in both our memories as An Awesome Thing About Prell.