There is a group of women just below “a certain age” who embrace Miranda July fiercely, not just because she is someone we look up to, but because she makes us feel so much less alone.

“Each listing was like a very brief newspaper article. News flash: someone in LA is selling a jacket. The jacket is leather. It is also large and black. The person thinks it is worth ten dollars. But the person is not very confident about that price, and is willing to consider other, lower prices. I wanted to know more things about what this leather-jacket person thought, how they were getting through the days, what they hoped, what they feared—but none of that information was listed. What was listed was the person’s phone number.”

photo by Kate Miss

A Clarisonic Mia, because it is luxurious and will make her skin vibrant and healthy without chemicals. She’ll appreciate this more than a one-time facial, because spas always make her feel just the tiniest bit awkward. $119

“Drink the Local Craft Beer” tee shirt, because she can throw back micro brews with the best of them and is proud of it. $25

A rad new case for her iPhone, because if she drops it one more time, it’s totally going to break. $35

An Instax Mini photo album in her favorite color, because all those little photos are starting to pile up. $17

“Me and You and the Dog” print, because that’s how y’all roll. (Can be customized to be “dogs”.) $38

Kiehl’s essential oil, because it’s a warm, sexy alternative to spritz-on perfume. (The cucumber and gardenia are both divine.) $26

A gift box of charming cookies and homemade marshmallows from Whimsy & Spice, because she has a sophisticated sweet tooth. $22

Your own love note, transcribed by Bryn of Paperfinger, because you should always add little touches of Mr. Darcy to your game. $200

A moissanite engagement ring, because shouldn’t you propose? She’s so great. $450

new stamps snapped with my iPhone

I’m pretty sure this has never been confessed on this blog before: you can add “stamp-collecting” to the frizzy hair, glasses, buck teeth, goofy personality and homeschooling that made me a social pariah as a kid.

I’ve stopped collecting, but getting a brand new sheet of postage is a still tiny thrill for me and I will never be the sort to buy a practical roll of boring flags. I try not to buy the same ones twice, and now that I own a business that involves mailing things on a regular basis, picking out a pretty combo of stamps for each package is my favorite part of paperwork.

On 22 January postage prices went up, and they released some particularly pretty designs this time around.

Did you know that rather than going to the post office, you can order stamps online and have any amount of them them sent directly to you for just $1 (in the mail, of course!) These above are my latest; I think the butterflies are really cool, and the clock reminds me of the cover of one of my favorite books, the Phantom Tollbooth.

I feel so dorky, but it’s genuinely exciting! Someone please tell me you like pretty stamps, too. I can’t be the only one.

When Paul Ferney last offered slots in The Commission Project, I bought one and picked this photo to be turned into a 5×7″ oil painting in Ferney’s pretty, impressionist style.

Only one living figure was was allowed in the painting for the discounted price, so I chose Tino. Of all three dogs, he was the most rejected and downtrodden when we found him.

You remember the story. It was 2007 and we were on a tour bus in Puerto Rico that stopped at a beach. I wandered away from everyone and heard a crying noise over by some trucks. When I saw what was making all the racket, my stomach flipped over, and even though I didn’t realize it at the time, nothing was ever the same again.

Years later, I still think about what I saw; often it promts me to scoop Tino up into my chest and nuzzle my nose on the top of his fuzzy head. If I think about it too long, I start dripping tears down his ears and snout.

Someone had broken his back, and his hind legs were completely paralyzed and laid out behind him, useless. He was dirty, skinny, starving and dehydrated. We gave him a water bottle out of cupped hands, which was all we had, and asked around about him. A few locals shrugged.

“He’s been there for five days.” they said. “No one really cares.”

I became a whole other, stronger person that day as I jumped through hoops and endured a disheartening level of scorn from family to get him rescued, fixed up, and sent to live with us.

Today, he is the worst-behaved and least-loved* of our three dogs. He’s wary around strangers, barks crazily at strange dogs, and bites anyone who dares attempt to pet him (Rob and I can, but no one else.)

But he can’t help it. He tries to be a good dog, I can see it in his body language. He’ll cuddle with a few of our more trusted (and mostly female) friends, and as long as they keep hands off, he’ll fall asleep with his chin on their knees. That was something we never thought we’d see when we first got him. He learned a few tricks, too, and despite how frustrating he can be sometimes, I’m enormously proud of him and how far he’s come.

I know it sounds a little ridiculous, and Tino doesn’t understand, but I thought he deserved this anyway. A throw-away dog turned into a cherished oil painting is a good happy ending.

*By others, of course. I’m not allowed to have favorites!

It could be argued that this is more “Thursday night” music.
I love the way she is so un self-conscious about dancing around, how she’s really INTO the music. There’s a good lesson there, fellow artists.

Via Daffodil Campbell, who is my lovebug.

I’ve had one of those weeks where personal blogging just didn’t happen. A few professional blog posts made it to print though, and you should to go look at them, because they make me especially proud.

Here and Here

There was a problem with my work professionally – the photos coming out of my camera were good but not measuring up to the photos in my head – and I didn’t know how to fix it until it came to me in a dream that the camera settings could be different. When I woke up, I reconfigured my camera and immediately noticed a huge difference. Huge to me, anyway; no one else probably notices, but I’m so excited! How cool is it that my brain solved a problem for me in my sleep?

These photos are from several weeks ago (it takes a while for a shoot to make it to the blog), and I think I’ve gotten even better since I started using my new technique.

I love making art!

Phil let me crash with him during my on-a-whim trip to a few weeks ago; he picked this song from Nickle Creek member Sara Watkins for this week’s Monday Music, and this is why:

“I’d had a hellish summer when I went to see Nickle Creek in Central Park. I sent the band a message after and said it was the first time I really smiled since everything happened. She responded with a thoughtful thank you note. It means a lot to me.”

I love it – her voice is like a dream.

Swamplandia! is one of the best pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. I loved it so much, I broke the cardinal rule of New York City subway travel and butted into a conversation upon overhearing two people talking about it (thankfully they agreed with me on all its merits and we gushed about it until my stop at 14th street.) I loved it so much that I would stop reading mid-chapter, clutch my Kindle to my chest, and sigh.

I love it so much I don’t actually want to talk about it, because I can’t do it justice. You should just go read it, and then email me. We will sigh together, and you can then join me in feeling massively unaccomplished; Karen Russell published it at 29.

Last week when I was in LA I hopped into the studio with one of my favorite podcasts, The Because Show which was RIDICULOUSLY EXCITING as I spend most of the time I’m listening to them in my headphones wishing that I could pipe in.

We talked about Life Lists, music, and loosing my religion; listen here. (A word to the faint of heart, there is NORMAL swearing, and both sex and orgasms are acknowledged somewhere in there, too.)

Thanks Susan, Jerilyn and Amy for having me! I’ll see you guys in New York soon, ok? We’ll get crack pie at Momofuku.

I am honored and excited to announce that I am going to be a Community Leader in Photography at this year’s BlissDom conference! It’s in Nashville, 23-25 Februray.

Are you going? Come hug me, ok? I’m going to need one several.

Um, yeah. You can totally have a dollar. You are cute.