Happy Humpday!

In honor of being half way through the week, I thought I'd do a post with ideas for relaxation.

1. Treat yourself to one of those head massages they do in hair salons by taking time to really rub in shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Make firm circles on your temples with your thumbs, and make sure to work on the place where your neck and skull meet.

2. Take a luxurious bubble bath, with candles, music, and anything else that makes you happy. No phones allowed in the bathroom.

3. Bake a cake - with friends, or by yourself. Go crazy with the decorations (I was once responsible for a yellow brick road from hell cake... yeah, try and picture that one).

4. Take a tip from the new movie Julie and Julia, and ENJOY eating! The more butter the better! I am a firm believer in the notion that food only sticks as fat in your body if you feel horrible about eating it. My love handles are, at the moment, for example, made up of a huge grilled cheese that I knew I shouldn't have been eating. Live a little. Savour all the tastes. Have it with a glass of wine.

5. Snuggle with someone. This can be done by force if necessary, and it is where dogs are sometimes handier than cats. Curl up together and sicnronize your breathing. Do a long dog sigh.

Only two more days until the weekend!

Warning: Reading this post may cause cuteness overload!

At the urging (read: little licks and kisses on my nose) of the wonderful bunnies I help look after, I am shamelessly devoting a post to their cause. [Don't worry, I'll be back soon with more wonderful vintage-y goodness.]

[Nose kisses from Helvetia]

Ok, so normally, when I tell people I volunteer at an animal shelter... with bunnies, I get strange looks. "Wait, bunnies? In the

shelter? Like, a cat and dog shelter?" And it's hard for me to believe it too. I mean, would you look at this guy? (Theo) -->

Who would say, "ehh, no thanks... I think I'll abandon him" ??!

But alas, there are some people in this world who should not ever be allowed anywhere near animals (or really to be able to reproduce, but that's another matter). Sometimes though, it's no fault of the owners... Especially in these rough economic times, events happen, like foreclosures or new landlords, that send bereaved bunny lovers to our shelter's door step. Imagine having to give up some one you loved because your new roommate doesn't like pets! (yes, this has happened a little too often).

When they come to us, most of the rabbits are in pretty bad shape. Some are wondering where there families went, and some have been in horrible conditions. This little one to the left (Aly), had pink bald ears and matted clumps of fur. Yet he was also the sweetest thing I've ever met. I think he thought he was a dog, but every time anyone passed his cage, he would hop on over to say hello and put his nose down for pets. I had to try very hard not to put him in my purse at the end of the day and steal him away. Eeek!

Anyway, the point of this post is not to make you cry, but to let you know that there are some pretty freaking adorable bunnies out there. I know they are probably not the first thing you think of when getting a pet. No one ever asks, "Are you a cat or bunny person?". But you should.

They live much longer and happier lives inside the home, and without cages. Yes, rabbits are suppose to run about quite like dogs. Once fixed (which is a healthy choice for them), they litter-box train themselves as they are quite the meticulous cleaners. In many ways they are like a miniature version of a dog... though they don't have the idea of "fetch" down so well. They'll even let you know they are happy to see you by doing "binkies" - a sort of uncontrollable hop of joy straight up in the air. And they each have they own distinctive personalities. I know, I know, they're all just little fluffy bunnies, right? Wrong! Ask anyone you know with a bunny. I've known divas and princesses, rascals and gentle "giants" who love to snuggle.

So, if you, or someone you know, is thinking about getting a pet, consider a rabbit. And please, please, get your pets from the shelters!!

Click on the post title, the bunny adoption button on my side bar, or the link bellow to visit Rabbit-Match... which is the organization I work with. Even if you don't live in the LA area, we have some great sister organizations and all the links are up on the site.

www.rabbitmatch.org

Until next time, kisses from 40sfemme and the bunny gang!

[Pericles getting some loving. Please note: the shelter is the only place I never dress up. I love my vintage clothes too much and they would get in the way!]

Just one more...

How cute is it?? I want one!

Yes, I know it should be in the wild, but apparently it's legal to have one as a pet in Russia. 

ето очень плохо!

Warning: This is NOT a proper post!

Oh dear!  How embarrassing!  I've been added by some truly fabulous girls, and I've been resorting back to my lazy, non-updating self!  

To be fair, I am on the hunt for a way to upload pictures of a exciting vintage find... my sister took the scanner when she moved out.  But I thought with 13 posts and 13 followers, I might be doomed if I didn't do something fast.

So here's something cute...  Perhaps the worst kept secret about me is that I'm a sucker for animal cuteness (I volunteer with bunnies, yes bunnies, at an LA shelter):

As well as something that makes me cry every time I watch it... which is, embarrassingly enough, quite a lot:

Well who doesn't love sytycd? At least secretly?

... And no, I'm not actually that superstitious: 

1. Don't walk under a ladder, because it could fall on you, or you could knock the person on it off.   2. If you do break mirrors, you probably will have 7 (ish) more years of bad luck, because it seems you are rather clumsy.   3. I had a black cat for the first 10 years of my life, and I snuggled with one before taking an IR exam this year (on which I got my best score yet).

Christmas in July: Amusing Musings from a Tired Brain

So last week I decided that I would make this blog a Sunday adventure, writing up the events of the past week.  As you can see, that worked out wonderfully (not).  I suppose my main problem is that I'm a perfectionist, and the more inspiring blogs I read, the more I feel mine cannot possible compete.  So I put it off, for a stroke of genius to appear at a later date.  I still feel a bit lacking in the genius department, but oh well.  Better late than never, right?

This blog was created to catalogue my achievements/adventures, as well as things that make me happy.  While I do not want to fill this with pages of my emotional writings (I found my old middle school LiveJournal, and I do not know why I ever thought anyone would ever me interested in that... slightly "emo"), hopefully this will be a place I can record my journey of "self-re-discovery".  Last summer, I ended (sort of) a six year romantic relationship.  To make matters worse, it was with my best friend, so there wasn't anyone to "take care" of me.  The best way I can describe what happened after that is simply that I shut down.  However, now I feel somewhat ready to try to reanimate myself, and come back into the real world.  Yet, having been one half of something for so long, I now have to find out who I am on my own.

I figure that this can be a place that I use to remind myself of the little things that bring a smile to my face (vintage shoes, for example).  Plus it will give me a weekly activity to add to my schedule, as, being slightly OCD, I LOVE making lists... always starting with "make list".  ;)

So, after a lengthy explanatory intro, this belated post:

1. (<-- notice it's a list!) My older sister just got an apartment in Hollywood, and we've been helping her move in.  This meant a trip to ikea, and way too much time salivating over everything.  I love housing stores (especially Potterybarn), but without a house of my own, I constantly have to be reminded that I do not own my own kitchen (*tear*).  Yet, I am somehow not drawn to the bathroom sets... I think when I have my own house, I will have a library, kitchen, and bedroom, but forget the bathroom.  The apartment, however, is fantastic; it's in an old 1920s/1930's building, with Jacaranda trees outside.  The only problem is that it is incredibly hot over there.

2). Speaking of heat... I'm melting!  I feel like the wicked witch when dorothy attacked her

with the water.  It's far too hot here, even though I'm close to the sea. You'd think, after spending more than half the year in Scotland, I'd appreciate this weather more.  But I'm a fan of the cold (and lovely vintage coats, mittens, boots, etc.).  I always get this problem in July, where I think it must be Christmas soon, right?  It's the problem of growing up in a city lacking extreme season changes.  I had my first snowy winter last year, and all I want, sweltering by my pool right now, is for it to be that time of year again.... "Santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight..."

3). I re-watched The Big Sleep last night, which probably counts as my favorite movie of all time.  I'm not sure if it was the first Bogie and Bacall movie, but they are absolutely fantastic together!  It was also one of the first movies that used overlapping dialogue, which Lauren Bacall is particularly wonderful at.  He is, of course, amazing at everything he does (I would love to marry a Bogie of my own).  I think Bacall gets a lot less recognition than other women of her era, because not only is she a great actress (holding her own against the much older and experienced Bogart), I think she's gorgeous! 

4). Lastly, I have been hunting for a store in LA that sells pretty reproduction vintage lingerie, like some of the things from What Katie Did, but I can't find one.  I'm not fond of places like Victoria Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood, as they're not all that classy.  Does anyone know of any good shops?