the giraffe life

Much like the giraffe tv , I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this lunchbox . .  Do you use a lunchbox? I take my lunch in a mini cooler because my work fridge is crowded and not the most reliable for keeping things chilly. 

Another post coming to you from the farmers' market: the peanut pumpkin. They had a huge display of pumpkins and squash out this weekend. As I got closer, I realized it really does look like peanut shells on the pumpkin skin. ( eHow says it might be a cross between a squash and pumpkin plant.) Mr. G isn't a fan of pumpkin, and I don't want to eat 12 pounds of anything by myself so I didn't buy one. But it was too cool not to share :) linking up with wordless Wednesday

Monday was the official last day of summer. I spent some time outside on the patio just relaxing and cloud watching. Hard to believe I'll need to wear a coat every day soon but I am looking forward to all the beautiful leaves, warm soups, and snuggling under a blanket on the couch. Are you ready for the next season?

She hopped right in when I opened it to put away laundry. linking up for wordless Wednesday

Do you hang coats on hooks? We tried using the hall closet (around the corner from the door), but this is much quicker and then we can use the closet for out of season items. But this particular coat rack has seen better days. At first glance, it seems fine. Several hooks, a little space to rest things on top. Then the hooks started breaking off one by one, followed by the whole coat rack falling off the wall. Good times.  So we replaced it. And by we, I mean Mr. G :)  And not that I'm wishing for an early winter, but I am looking forward to loading this with heavy coats and winter hats. We're saving the old one for now, because we may be able to salvage the hook portion and use them elsewhere in the house for lighter items (I'm pretty sure the weight is why they were breaking). Where do you hang coats?

I finished 84, Charing Cross Road last night (and adored it) and look what I noticed when I reached the end. This is how I know a library book is old - it has a pocket! (Old being a relative term, of course.) Does anyone else remember these?  I remember them from my early years of having a library card. Sometimes the librarians would even let me use the date stamp on the check out card! And bonus, the pocket meant I could be nosy and see when the book was last checked out, how long it sat on the shelves before being picked again, and count to see whether blue, purple, or black ink had the most dates to its name. (I may have had too much free time.)  I'm sure the librarians were eager to see them go in favor of our current digital system, but I indulged in a little nostalgia for the pocket and card system last night. :) linking up for wordless Wednesday

I stopped by the thrift shop to drop off two boxes of stuff we decluttered (wooo!) and look what I found . .  (Should I make a bad joke about how they were calling my name? haha ) Alas, they weren't my size (or style, really) but it was cool to see my name as a shoe brand. linking up for wordless Wednesday

Do buy souvenirs when you go on vacation? We usually do. We chose this because it's somewhat practical (but also fun, especially when we have guests) and reminds us of our Lego Land trip. linking up for wordless Wednesday

In my neighborhood, we have community open space , which is basically a fancy way of saying green spaces with no houses on them that everyone is welcome to use. While walking near one such "open space" last week, I saw something that looked like a blackberry.  I stepped closer.  It was a blackberry. Growing all by itself in the wild! (I mean, as wild as it can be inside a residential area.) I texted a photo to my dad to be sure it wasn't something poisonous, and when he confirmed  that it was indeed a blackberry, I ate the ripe one that had caught my eye. Yum! I went to visit again yesterday and realized that all the surrounding plants are blackberry bushes too. So exciting! Now all future walks must be planned to pass the blackberry patch and enjoy a little snack.  I can't resist those warm, fresh berries. :) Any edibles growing near you? Would you eat food you found?

Dottie has been known to sleep in some unusual places  but she continues to surprise me! We found her in the tiny space next to the TV receiver last week: linking up for wordless Wednesday

I bought two tank tops at Target five years ago and wear them constantly. Alone in the summer, and under sweaters or hoodies in the winter. They're still holding up, but had lost most of their color and elasticity by last summer, so I relegated them to wear during gardening, yoga, and hanging around the house. When I saw Target had tank tops on sale last week, that was the push I needed to buy a few new ones. Rather than drive to Target and then the grocery store, we decided to just bring a cooler and do our food shopping at Target too. Once we started wandering the food aisles (we rarely shop there and were pretty lost) we saw a bunch of items that advertised "Made in Australia."  It seems Target is featuring Australian flavors. (Or maybe this is typical and it's just that I visit too infrequently to notice?) Chocolate plus licorice is a strange combination to me, but the Aussie pie reminds of what we'd call a pot pie in the US. Both were yummy :) Would ...

linking up for wordless Wednesday

The title says it all. This is what happens when I sit outside for too long. Thankfully we have a cat-proof pet screen so she didn't mess anything up with her antics. I'm actually impressed by her climbing - it took a few tries, but she can go up and down quite well now. linking up for wordless Wednesday And I promise, no animal pictures in Friday's post!

My mom's birthday was close to Easter this year, so when I set out to make her birthday cake, I thought a duck-shaped one would be cute and festive. The pan was a little difficult to work with, but Mr. G and I didn't have any major issues until he tried to take the cake out of the pan. He whacked the back of the pan and the head flew out! In an effort to attach the head back to the body, I used some of the icing as a glue (I added extra powdered sugar, but it still came out runny). Unfortunately, it just ran down the front and back of the duck's body. So I accepted defeat and poured the rest of the icing on the duck. At least it looks like I did it on purpose, right? Maybe this duck prefers to swim in yellow ponds? haha My mom got a great laugh out of this whole experience. :)  Once the icing hardened, the cake was almost like a doughnut - light and fluffy inside, but with a hard shell of icing outside, so all was well. And tasty!  Click here if you'd like to ...

I put our white chair cushion outside this weekend while the weather was nice to get some sun (I've heard it helps disinfect and deodorize fabrics). But then a surprise rain shower moved in so I brought the cushion inside and left it on the couch in hopes that the rain would pass. It didn't, but Capone sure enjoyed the new sleep spot (I was surprised he didn't fall off - it must've felt like sleeping on the side of a mountain or something).  Dottie played it safe and slept in my lap on the couch. linking up for wordless Wednesday

My snowbells didn't come up this year, but at least my neighbors are having better luck. I spotted these on a walk this weekend :) linking up for  wordless Wednesday

Mr. G and I celebrated last night because I turned in the final project for my masters :) Now I just have to wait for my grade (eek!). He had Bailey's + whipped cream and I enjoyed vodka + carrot juice. Yum! I'm also treating myself by ordering this dress tomorrow :) Thank you again for all your kind words and encouragement - it was wonderful to have so many people rooting for me! Have you done any celebrating lately?

The market had local asparagus this weekend and that made me pretty cheery. But then I saw the chicks . . and got really cheery. Squee! So adorable! :) linking up for wordless Wednesday

You never know what you'll find at the store these days . .  Given any foods a double take lately? linking up with wordless Wednesday

We use wool dryer balls in the dryer to speed up the process a bit and hopefully save a little energy. (I prefer to dry stuff in the sun - weather permitting - but since I live in a humid place, there are times when things start to mold before they are dry. And sometimes I'm just lazy.)  So as I was folding laundry the other day, one of the wool balls fell out of a pant leg and Dottie immediately pounced on it. Before I could even react, she had knocked the ball down the stairs and was intent on killing it. After laughing at her silliness for a few minutes, I took a couple of pictures . .  She's also been caught attacking an octopus and onion . Nothing like a goofy kitty cat to melt my heart :) What do your cats like to play with?