When real things happen to imaginary people

For Father's Day I took Dad out to lunch, we went and browsed Value Village, and then we stopped off at Zen Dog Tea House and Gallery, a place I'd been curious about for YEARS but had never managed to get to. It's an asian-style tea house, has a gorgeous garden complete with a koi pond, and is one of the most peaceful places I've ever stepped into. I'm very glad I went there with Dad today.

So over the course of last night, I wrote 5,044 words, for a story that is due tomorrow. Those of you who follow me on FB got to see the real-time madness; I hope it was amusing.

The story is for an anthology that hasn't been officially announced yet, but when it IS, I will be telling everyone. So yes, it's fiction, and it's not part of the serial I've been writing for Steampunk Tales.

Tonight, I go over the feedback from my brilliant, lovely, talented beta readers, and tomorrow I send the story off. And then get back to the other looming projects, ahahahahaha.

I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to The Republic of Tea for their caffeine-free Chocolate Strawberry Red and Red Velvet Chocolate teas. (clicky-links!) They are scrumptious.

Here, have a bunch of scattered bullet points!

- Last night's Sepiachord show featuring Unwoman, Nathanial Johnstone, and Harlan from Toy Box Trio was brilliant. And yes, is part of the reason I am coveting a theramin. (To be honest, I've idly wanted a theramin for YEARS. But now I really really want one.)

- In celebration of it being work at home Friday, I am wearing ... my new black & pink PJ pants with a Pirates of the Caribbean print. A print of pink pirate skulls, cursed Aztec gold, and compass roses. I love them. No, you don't get a photo.

- Looking at photos of various deathrockers thanks to my Tumblr stream has not only made me nostalgic for Big Hair, but has also given me a (very mild!) craving for a deathhawk. (There is no need to stage an intervention, Stroppy One. I am not shaving the sides of my head. I promise.)

- So far I've had a pot of chai (Nutty Guru from the wonderful Sip-T company (clicky-link!)) and a double Americano. I still want more caffeine. Should I wait until the Stroppy One brews coffee later on, or should I have more tea?

Oh look, more mainstream coverage about how the fashion industry is going "Alice In Wonderland! How quirky!" http://ok.co.uk/okfashion/view/19066/Alice-In-Wonderland-Tim-Burton-s-new-movie-ignites-kitsch-punky-chic/

"ALICE In Wonderland fever is spreading across the globe, with Tim Burton's new 3D adventure inspiring a new trend for kooky, gothic fashion, make-up and jewelery."

Hey, some of us have been dressing in a "kooky, gothic" style for YEARS. Decades, even. On the other hand, this current trend is going to be fantastic for stocking up on some things. I'll admit, I'm a more than a little tempted by the headbands with bows, but I fear that would stray too far into mutton dressed as lamb territory.

(And yes, by the way, I do have a bottle of the OPI "Mad As A Hatter" glitter nail polish, thanks to minim_calibre. It is, indeed, sparkly and awesome.)

I have been covetously looking at this Disney Alice In Wonderland teapot (clicky-link!), because I've been looking for a second Alice-themed teapot for a while. But I must be strong, because I don't really NEED another teapot, and I should save spending money for things like, oh, the vendors' room at the Vampire Ball, new Fluevogs, and so on. Which ALSO means that I should not go tootling around Etsy, looking for Wonderland-themed goodies. No, no, I should not.

So, this scratchy feeling in my throat: allergies, or a looming cold? I'm hoping for allergies. But it made me realize that I need to go buy more Market Spice tea.

I am mostly a tea drinker. Don't get me wrong, I love well-made coffee. But the key part of that phrase is "well-made". Yes, I am something of a coffee snob. I don't like coffee that tastes burnt, I don't like overly acidic coffee, and I think lattes and mochas have too much milk in them. My ideal cup of coffee is a double-shot americano with a dollop of caramel sauce dissolved in it. Topped with real whipped cream. Needless to say, I don't manage to get my ideal coffee very often.

So I drink tea. I was raised drinking Market Spice tea, which is a black tea strongly flavored with orange and cinnamon. Currently, the teas I drink the most of come from Mighty Leaf (clicky-link!), which has glorious teas such as Pear Caramel Truffle and Chocolate Orange Truffle.

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Lipstick. Yes, I went and purchased the Kat Von D lipstick in Homegirl. And it is indeed my Perfect Lipstick. I'm not kidding; it's that perfect dark pomegranate wine color I've been searching for for a couple of decades. Of course, the catch is that it was a limited edition color for (from what I can tell) the past holiday season. Argh.

So! If any of you reading this happen to have a tube of Kat Von D's lipstick in Homegirl that you don't want, let me know if you'd be interested in a trade. I have unopened boxes of limited edition MAC lipsticks in Queen's Sin, Bing, and Burnin' to offer. I also have a barely-used tube of MAC Hang Up (which would be sanitized before being sent off, of course), an entirely full jar of MAC glitter in a dark purple blue, and several other hardly-been-used MAC goodies that I have to go dig out.

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Today involves job hunting (::sigh::), and doing the finishing work on the clothing sale document. Yes! The clothing sale will be posted this week!

Re-painted tea sets: Christine Misiak, who finds "old, worn forgotten tea sets and gives them a new lease of life." (clicky-link!)



Do you people have any idea how many battered silver-plated tea pots I have lurking in boxes? (Yes, I'm a packrat. What? Don't even try to pretend you didn't know that.) I'm guessing she used high-gloss spray paint, but I'm not entirely sure. Anyone have any other guesses?

...like I needed any other craft project ideas, oh dear oh dear ...

So, have various tea companies been making fancy chocolate-flavored teas, and I just didn't know? Because in addition to Tea Vitale's chocolate teas (clicky-link!) (and oooh, I really should try some of their drinking chocolate mixes), Mighty Leaf has a chocolate truffle tea collection. (clicky-link!) The Mighty Leaf Pear Caramel Truffle black tea is fantastic, and I'm about to try the decaf Masala Chocolate Truffle tea as my post-lunch beverage.

Last night, I stomped into stroppy_baggage's studio and (mostly faux) mournfully informed him that I didn't know what I wanted to wear to work the next day^*, and was cranky about it. He said^**, "That's easy. You're going to wear something red and black."

"But I was thinking maybe black and white, or black and pink."

"No! Red and black! Do not arguuuuue!" (For the record, said in very Invader Zim -like tones.)

So. ( Red and black it is )
I think tomorrow's outfit is going to involve (among other items) a b&w stripy skirt, and possibly the white faux-fur collar. See, this is part of the reason why I prefer fall and winter to spring and summer. I love love love faux-fur accessories (and tights, and cute little wool jackets, and other things that require cooler weather).



^*Yes, I figure out the next day's outfit during the night before. Usually while I'm waiting to fall asleep, but last night I was doing some re-organizing of the Wardrobe O' Jackets.

^**Yes stroppy_baggage, I'm paraphrasing you. I don't remember if this is exactly what you said, but it's close.