The Hair Whip (extended cut)

This silliness all started with James' hair getting way too long, and the resultant hair-whipping.
So after school yesterday we took him to the barbershop, and I requested that he do one last hair
whip to capture on video. Of course Evelyn had to get in on it too.  And then...
well, we got carried away.

Oh, April...

I hope I gotcha with my April Fools' Day joke yesterday.  Now Jeff's like... "YES, OSLOmygosh!  Let's do it!"  Hahaha!  Did you prank anyone?  Or get pranked?  I didn't make anyone cry this year, so I guess I'm making progress.  :P

   

Winter Woes...

I don't know about you, but I am NOT a fan of Winter.  I'm just not cut out for the cold.  You can laugh and say... California?  COLD?  Pfft!  But you know what...  Before moving here, I had these preconceived ideas of what life in California was like... I realize in hindsight that most of those ideas came from episodes of Saved By The Bell.  You know... lots palm trees, neon bikinis, and convertibles.    Like a homogenised version of Hawaii- but with road trips, rabies, really good schools, and snakes.  

(I really wish I was joking)

Of course most of the year, it's a great place to live.  But for these few months when we can see our breath outside, and just the thought of wearing a dress gives me goosebumps- I really long for neon bikini weather.  

Halloweenies and sickies and such...

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that the central coast has gone ahead and skipped Fall this year.  We've gone straight from summer to winter.  I mean, just a week ago we were having an obnoxious heatwave, and now here we are battling the flu, wearing footy jammies, and blasting the heaters.  What gives, weather?!  Elliott doesn't seem too bothered.  Even with a gross runny nose, and less time outdoors...  Give him a Hot Wheels car and an applesauce crusher, and he's pretty stoked on life.  

We kept ourselves busy throughout the week of plague, by trying on Halloween costumes, baking way too many brownies, and catching up on our Caillou.  But we finally ventured out a few days ago and the kids were SO excited to find the goofy Halloween cutout at Trader Joes...

And of course, they made new friends...

Ohhh, these crazy kidlets.  ♥

How hot was it downtown yesterday?

This hot.

Either Elliott is dinner, or we have the most ghetto kiddie pool in town.

Disclaimer: I know that not all of you follow my instagram feed- so for those of you who do, I feel the need to apologize for the oft repeated photos and (ahem) super awesome captions.  You should know that when blogging these repeat-shots, I also try to throw in some versions of the event that you haven't seen.  

Case in point...

Elliott attempted to use several different techniques to get himself into his soup pot.

And then suddenly... BLAP!  With a big splash- he did it.

I actually worried that he might be stuck in it.  I mean, look at that back fat squished up against the side.    Next time I'm busting out the cupcake.  But he felt VERY accomplished, and his cranky teething-in-the-heat attitude?  Completely forgotten.  Water is like magic for this baby.  ♥

P.S.  We used a different pot for dinner.  ;)

Oh my gosh, you guys- this is for real...

It's no secret that Paris left a gaping hole in my heart that can only be filled with, uhhh... more Paris.

But this is a little ridiculous.  A Czech photographer has rustled up a nice little side business on etsy (duh) selling cans of exotic air for $10 a pop.  Er... sniff.  Breath?  

1. Yes, it's crazy.

2. The packaging is surprisingly brilliant.

3. Did I mention that it's crazy?

Ok, he might have sold me on the "homesickness" thing.  On a particularly bad day, I might just be inclined to crack open a can of Kauai air.  Here's hoping he never offers it, because I'm kind of serious - and Jeff might never speak to me again if I start buying canned air online.  

Paris not your canned air locale of choice?  No problemo.  

He's got the good stuff from New York, Singapore, Riga, Berlin, and Prague.  

What's your air of choice?

This door is SO talented...

It's spot-on impression of MIles Davis made me laugh out loud.

Refreshing...

Am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious?  So dumb.  And yet... so awesome.

Sooooo... by the time this scheduled post goes live, we should be back home from our family camping trip.  Assuming I have survived the ordeal, I'll see you all back here tomorrow with the deets, and pictures and you know...  stuff.  

Hope you all had a super HAPPY 4th of July!!!

xo,

So sayeth Sahnzy...

Aside from Elliott peeing on my Tempurpedic- this is what I woke up to this morning... 

Sweet, right?

And then there was this...

Eazy-E blasting out of his iphone, and Jeffrey rapping the lyrics in my face.  

I feel like I can hear it coming out of the photo.  Lucky me.

Oh, this guy...

Sooo, I've been casually gathering, collecting, and sitting on some choice quotes from him, 

and rather than wait for more- I'm just going to share a few of them with you now:

"I don't like you laughing when it's not at my jokes... unless you share."

"I love you.  You're my best friend... don't ever cross me though."

"Just accept it, silly.  Just like I have to accept the fact that you think shoes in the house is going to cause a plague."

"They're being real chiliholes about this talent show."

"You are the pineapple on the Hawaiian pizza of my life."

"Sometimes thinking of you even makes my headaches go away."

.........................................................................

Yes, this is my life.  And the man I chose to spend it with.  Ummm...

♥

GUM! GUM! GETCHA GUM, RIGHT HEA!

Daaaaaang, you guys...  Look at this thing!  

I finally found the perfect gumball machine.  Being on the gum wall, it only made sense that Ambiance should have their own gum machine, right?  So I scoured through hundreds of them - all over the country, in every size, shape, and color.  After many months of searching, I saw this one and thought: EUREKA!  It's certainly a statement-maker...  It doesn't wait around patiently for the inevitable question: "Hi, do you sell gum?"  No, sir - you won't find any subtlety here.  This baby blows a fat bubble right in your face, smacks its jaw, and shouts: "GUM! GUM! GETCHA GUM, RIGHT HEA!'  

It's ridiculous.  It's obnoxious.  It's taller than I am!  It's freakin' awesome.

She'll go through a little makeover before she's up and running...  we're leaning towards a nice, rich, turquoise, what do you think?  But soon enough she'll be looking gorgeous, with a big belly-full of gumballs.

I'll keep you updated.  :)

#whatshouldwecallme

Have you seen the blog #whatshouldwecallme?  Ohhhh my gosh... someone needs to stage an intervention to pull me away from it.  Seriously.  I think that if I tell Jeff to "LOOK" one more time, he might just snap.  

So I'm telling you guys.  :)  

A few of my favorites:

WHEN I'M WITH MY FRIENDS

AND I SAY SOMETHING WITTY

WHEN SOMEONE TAKES CREDIT

FOR SOMETHING I SAID FIRST

WHEN MY BOYFRIEND IS TRYING TO APOLOGIZE, 

BUT I'M STILL MAD AT HIM

WHEN I'M AT A PARTY AND

I SEE THE DESSERT TABLE

WHEN I SEE A GIRL WEARING:

HEELED RAINBOOTS

JEANS WITH NO BACK POCKETS

ED HARDY

mucho mucho happy happy

I got a fun little goody in the mail today from the good folks over at muchomuchobuenobueno.

But before I share it with you, I have a little story...

A few years ago, Jeff was in his shop after dark, after closing, and overheard some people outside talking about the (I'm spelling this phonetically for you) "Cluh-sahhn Gallery". Those guys had no idea what an amazing gift they'd given us... A new, awesome, slightly-ridiculous nickname for Jeffrey. Nicknames and inside-jokes come and go, but this one made the short-list of all time favorites in record time. Whenever he was sassy, or being artist-y (if you've ever been in a relationship with one, you'll know what I mean), or winning art awards, or selling art, or getting press... he was no longer Jeff Claassen, he was Clasahn; and Clasahn was always referred to in the third person.

Over time, this nickname has evolved from a joke into a genuine term of endearment. It's also been shortened to Sahnzy. Or alternately, Sahnzy-licious, Sahnzy-pants, or Sahnzy Junior (for Elliott) and Sahnzy Senior (for Jeff's dad). In fact, it's almost startling for me to hear "Jeff" as opposed to "Sahnzy". Like, when your mom called you by your first and your middle name as a kid- and you knew things were serious.

So without further ado... My ode to Sahnzy:

Boom!