#really worn out from moving and already in the holiday crafting season

[kirby-the-gorb]

all of october's stickers put together! (yes there was a previous post but I had to change the bg color)

sign up through patreon by the end of october if you want em :>

#kirby #my art #digital #stickers #patreon #merch #for sale #kinda simplistic designs this month but such is life #really worn out from moving and already in the holiday crafting season #they're still cute though :T #food #favorites

[starlightrows]

Something Sweet

Chapter 1 - Spring Festival Funnel Cakes

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Series Masterlist

Pairing: Modern!Paz Vizsla x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: None!

Summary: Spring has sprung and business is booming and the community is celebrating with a weekend long festival... that you get to spend attending a vendors booth next to the handsome baker from down the street

The depths of winter in a place where it snows is not the ideal time to be moving your whole life and business. But you didn’t have much of a choice, you had already gotten the business license taken care of, the storefront purchased, and suppliers lined up. And with the lease on your apartment being up, it’s now or never. So with a small moving truck full of your belongings all packed up, you set off towards the city to finally chase your dream of opening a flower shop.

Your new apartment is nice, a bit smaller than your previous one but that comes with living alone in the city on a tight budget. But still it’s a one bedroom and it’s enough for just you. The storefront is beautiful. It’s located downtown in what you had assumed was a historic district of the city, but somehow is not classified as such. The buildings are lovely red brick exterior with large open windows for passers by to peek in, with quaint awnings over every door. Your store is located on the corner, with plenty of space to set up floral displays and hang potted plants in the windows. Come spring time this is going to be amazing, and beautiful and everything you dreamed of. You just hoped that others would think so too and come shop there.

By the time mid February rolls around there is still snow in the mountains, and the occasional rain and snow storm that blows through the area but it’s not as bad as when you first moved. Your apartment is coming along nicely, and your store is looking pretty good as well. You’re hoping to open by March 1st, but that’s still two and half weeks away. You’ve got plenty of time to finish painting, assembling shelves, figuring out how to want to arrange your displays, and set up the black board you’re planning to use to decorate the wall behind the checkout counter. You thought it might be fun to use chalk paint to decorate it for the various seasons, write specials, and do holiday countdowns.

You’re a little frustrated with yourself that you weren’t able to get everything in order to be open this weekend. Valentine’s Day is the prime time of the year for a flower and botanical shop. But spring is coming and that means birthdays, weddings, prom season, graduations, date nights, Mother’s Day and spring decorating! But for today it’s just you, a pair of worn overalls and a sweater, and a little can of paint for detailing the floor boards inside the shop. No flowers or valentines dates for you this year. You did see that there was a nice looking bakery a little ways down the street, maybe you could pick up a little treat for after dinner or some nice bread for making fancy toast.

Just the thought of it makes your mouth water, and your tummy rumble. Maybe you could make it an afternoon snack instead. You cap the lid to the paint bucket, and wash off your hands in the sink in the back. It’s not actively snowing but it is freezing outside, so you pull your jacket on over your sweater and lock the shop up behind you. You steal a quick glance at it, admiring how well it’s coming along, before you tuck your hands into your pockets and make your way down the street to the bakery.

It’s getting on in the afternoon, and the bakery isn’t very busy at the moment. But you’ve seen the lines in the morning when the bread is fresh out of the ovens, hopefully there will be something left for you.

You pull the door to the bakery open and step inside, glancing up at the sound of the tinkling bell that alerts the man behind the counter to your presence. He’s probably the tallest, broadest, burliest man you’ve ever seen; and then he smiles at you. It’s a smile that takes up his whole face, and lights up his eyes.

“Hey, welcome in” his voice is deep and sweet. You can literally feel your heart skip a beat and you almost forget why you came in here.

“Hi, I was hoping you might have some pastries or baguettes” you say, approaching the counter. He seems to blank out for a second, because he doesn’t answer you immediately.

“Uh- no sorry no pastries. But I do have a couple of French baguettes left,” he says. You’re a little disappointed about the pastries, perhaps you needed to come in earlier in the day. He pulls a baguette from the bread counter and offers it to you in a long parchment bag.

While he rings up your bread, you take the time to look around at his displays and other breads. “What’s your specialty?” You find yourself asking, thoroughly impressed with the wide variety he has to offer.

“I’m really proud of my ciabatta rolls,” he says earnestly “but I’ve been working on a new roasted tomato and herb crusted bread that excited about,”

You smile at his enthusiasm, it’s great to see people who are passionate about their craft. “I’ll have to come back and try it when you’ve got it figured out,”

You thank the kind man, and step back out into the cold to make your way back to your shop. Instantly you regret not asking for his name, but then again he just works down the street you’ll find out eventually.

———

February passed by in an overcast and sometimes snowy daze. You are able to meet your deadline and open your new store on March 1st. It’s finally a little sunnier on your opening weekend and just that simple fact has people outside and milling about. People are anxious to usher in spring, and there is no better way to brighten up the tail end of winter than by having fresh flowers, lush green house plants and aesthetically pleasing succulents around to decorate your space. Your entire store front is practically picked bare by the end of your first day! Good thing you get fresh deliveries every day, and have a fully stocked back room to replace all your wares for tomorrow.

Business slows down just a touch, but you’ve still got steady foot traffic for most of the day all through the spring. The weather is warming up, and the days are getting longer. Prom season is coming up and you’ve already pre cutting ribbon and bulk ordering corsage boxes. Graduations will be coming up soon too, you make sure to mark on your calendar when the local schools ceremonies are so you can have bouquets and lei ready in time.

One warm afternoon in April it’s a little slow and you’ve already swept the store, washed the windows inside and out, and potted 15 new plants in the back; so you take a well deserved break by standing behind the counter and reading a book. The bell on the door chimes and you look up to see a woman wearing jeans and a polo shirt with the city logo embroidered on the chest.

“Hi my name is Jennifer I’m with the city’s Parks and Recreation department,” she introduces herself and offers her hand to shake. You smile and accept her hand, giving your name as well.

“I’m stopping by all the local businesses to give you this” she hands you a flyer “the city’s annual spring festival is coming up at the end of May. Traditionally we bring in food trucks and invite arts and crafts vendors from the area to come sell their pieces and get some exposure, in the last couple years we’ve been expanding it to other local businesses too. There’s more information on the website to sign up to get you a booth if you’re interested. I think having a plants and flowers booth would be perfect for the spring festival”

She stays to chat about the festival for a couple minutes describing how fun it is to see all the local artists showing their craft, children getting their faces painted, live music, picnicking, and coming together as a community to celebrate the change in seasons.

“This city really comes alive at community events,” she tells you “Free concerts in the park in the summer, cultural learning events, fun runs, around the holidays we have a big Christmas tree lighting ceremony and winter carnival, don’t even get me started on how much this city goes all out for Halloween!”

Jennifir leaves after another couple minutes of excited chatter about the various events put on by the city, and continues on down the street to invite your business neighbors to attend the festival as vendors too. The whole interaction leaves you thrilled at the opportunity to advertise your business, make some more money for the shop, and be part of the community! Your long forgotten book is tucked away in favor of pulling out your laptop to register yourself with the city planning committee to participate in the festival.

The next few weeks you work extra hard to get through prom season, and put in more hours than usual to get everything prepared for graduations as well. The days tick by in May. Mother’s Day is an amazing weekend, you put up a temporary photo shoot wall for mom’s, daughters, grandmothers, or really anyone to come in and take a picture with a flower wall backdrop. Another amazing success full of happy smiling people!

Finally the weekend of the festival arrives, people from the city have been cleaning up the park and working their tails off to get everything perfect for the event. A massive stage is erected in the park, the usual parking lots are lined with enclosed pop up tents for the vendors selling hot foods, extra trash cans are placed everywhere, and early Saturday morning the local businesses are arriving with their SUV’s and vans full of goods to set up their tables.

You are among that crowd. Busily working to get your table set up under a pop up tent for shade, your flowers and potted plants ready for display, making sure you have enough cash for making change in transactions, and cardboard boxes to help people carry their new plant babies home with them.

All around you other local businesses are setting up their booths too. You recognize a few of them that you’ve visited already, but you’re looking forward to seeing more of them. Beside you, you absolutely recognize the tall, broad, and exceptionally handsome man that owns the bakery down the street from you. Spending the whole weekend stuck next to eye candy, and artisan bread… even if you didn’t sell a single flower this weekend at least you’d have a good view.

The morning is warming up, people will be arriving soon, your coffee long since gone. You steal a glance over at the man carefully arranging his bread displays. He glances over at you too, and grins at catching you staring.

“Morning,” he says cheekily

“Good morning,” you reply, going a bit warm in the cheeks.

“Flower booth for a spring festival? I think you’re in the running for making the most profit this weekend,” he jokes looking at your pretty flower displays and cute potted plants. You laughed a little and eyed his selection of breads hungrily

“I dunno, people don’t want to carry around a heavy plant all day. But they do want to snack on some delicious bread,”

He laughs, and extends a hand to introduce himself. “I’m Paz by the way,”

You shake his large hand and tell him your name as well. It’s a firm handshake, worn hands and strong forearms presumably from kneading bread dough. The thought makes your tummy flutter, and your heartbeat quicken.

And so it begins. The two of you pull up chairs at the edges of your pop up tents, and spend the whole day laughing, talking, interacting with customers and making sales. At the end of the first day, he sends you home with a loaf of bread with Asiago cheese baked into the top, and you gift him a pretty green succulent and promise him they are almost impossible to screw up taking care of.

The second day of the festival is much the same, except this time he brings you a breakfast sandwich he prepared ahead of time.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I need a taste tester. I’ve been thinking about expanding my menu to add breakfast sandwiches,” he tells you with a shy smile. You gladly accept the sandwich and have to control yourself not to make embarrassing noises when you taste it.

“You made this from scratch?” You ask, taking another bite

“Well I made the bun,” he says, unwrapping his own homemade breakfast sandwich

“If you start selling this, I promise you’ll put places like Starbucks out of business,” you tell him “honestly, I’m gonna have to start coming down there every morning before I open,”

In his head, Paz thinks that would be an absolute dream to have you come see him everyday. But that’s not the kind of thing you tell someone you met 24 hours ago, so he settles for something else instead

“How far is your shop? Maybe you can have your breakfast delivered,”

“You didn’t know?” You ask “I just opened my shop on the far corner of the street your bakery is on. I actually came in to try your bread a couple months ago,”

Paz is a little embarrassed, he knew a business moved in down there but had no idea it was your flower shop. “No way! I remember you coming in to the bakery, but I had no idea you worked down the street,”

“To be fair the store wasn’t open yet, and I somehow managed to forget to introduce myself,” you tell him.

Just like the day before, the two of you spend the day laughing and chatting in between greeting customers and promoting your respective businesses.

In the early afternoon a man with shaggy dark hair, sun glasses, tattoos and a very cute little boy wearing a green bucket hat came over and started making conversation with Paz. He glanced over at you.

“Have you met Din yet?” Paz asks you “He owns the tattoo parlor across from the bakery,”

You smile and shake his hand, you see his little boy eyeing your selection of plants. “Do you want to pick one out buddy?” You ask the little boy, he nods enthusiastically and chooses a little pot with the beginnings of a strawberry plant in it.

“Shorty and I were just gonna go grab some funnel cake before we head home for nap, I just stopped by to see if you wanted some,” Din says

“Yeah, that would be great!” Paz says.

Din turns to you, and extends the same offer. You politely decline, claiming there’s no way you’d ever finish one on your own.

“You can split one with me,” Paz beams. Din nods and leads his son off into the crowd to acquire the sweet treats.

“I can’t believe you haven’t met everyone yet,” Paz says “We all get together on Tuesday nights after hours for beers,”

“Who is we exactly?” You ask, sitting back down in the folding chair the festival committee had generously provided.

“Most of the shop owners on our street, and a couple of others from around the corner. They actually convinced me to move out here and start my business a couple years ago,”

“I had no idea there was such a community amongst the business owners around here,” you admit.

“You’ve gotta come meet everyone next week,” he insists “You’ll fit right in!”

Your heart warms at the sentiment. One of your big fears moving to the city was not knowing anyone and struggling to find a new group of friends. This could be promising!

Din and his son make their way back and come sit behind the tables with you and Paz. You and Paz do split the funnel cake, and have a grand time chatting with Din and his little boy.

“You’re telling me you’ve been in business for three months and haven’t been dragged into the group? You’ve gotta start coming to Tuesday night drinks,” Din laughs

“So I’ve been told. I think you boys have convinced me, I’ll be there on Tuesday,” you laugh. Paz and Din give a little cheer.

“Everyone will be so excited to meet you! But until then I think the little stinker needs to get home for a nap,” Din says scoops up his sleepy son who’s been dozing in his dad’s lap for the last 15 minutes “I’ll see you Tuesday,”

Din gives a one handed wave and disappears back into the crowd.

The remainder of the afternoon is a bit slower, the last remaining festival

“I’ll come down and pick you up so you don’t have to show up on your own,” Paz offers “Besides I need to check out your shop!”

“Awe! Thank you, that would be great!” You reply, a subtle warmth blooming in your cheeks at the thought of him coming to visit your shop.

Your heart does somersaults in your chest. He’s so sweet and kind. And he’s inviting you to be part of his friend group. That has to be a good sign, right?

Taglist: @maybege @gallowsjoker @simping-for-clones @mxndoscyarika @hayley-the-comet

AN: This whole story, but this chapter specifically is very special to me. The city this story takes place in is based off of the two cities I have lived in, in my life. I grew up going to festival that takes place in late spring, that’s really important to the town I was born and grew up in... and the new city that I moved to as an adult is known for its public markets on Saturday’s where local vendors sell their flowers and their baked goods. I am just days away from moving back to my home city (temporarily) and due to covid I didn’t have the opportunity to attend the public market the last two years in a row. I don’t know if I’ll get to participate in the spring festival in my hometown this year.

#Star Wars #The Mandalorian #Paz Vizsla #Paz Vizsla x reader #Modern AU #Pastry Chef!Paz #Bakery AU #Flower Shop AU #Paz Viszla #Paz Viszla x reader #Something Sweet

[kamimuse]

Too many things to ponder

The lighting of his study was dimly lit as usual, the wick of candles burning down to their base before sputtering out into a thin stream of smoke. Candles were easily replaced of course, a new stick usually placed right over where the old one had been. It had been like this for a few days now. The trove of tomes Hisao and Neugdae brought back from Thavnair were half rifled through. Hisao didn’t have time to actually read through them, but he had been skimming through and transcribed the Thavnarian script to the more common written word into a new grimoire he was crafting for himself. He’d only been transcribing the spells he thought would be beneficial and necessary. It was a good distraction, even if he wasn’t sure half of what he was doing was useful currently, but it beat the strange silence and mix of emotions he’d been feeling over the past week.

He had spent his time pouring over texts and journals about dimensional travel, alternate dimensions and any research involving planar travel. Nothing he found was useful, though his talk with Vindi had been insightful. It had given him ideas to play with and things to research, but these topics were the kind that got scholars and researchers laughed out of their field. There wasn’t enough printed and readily available information out there. Perhaps he just needed to stop formulating plans. Maybe he needed to do something already.

Between his private conversations, the attack in the hall, dealing with the aftermath of that said attack, and then Araijah showing up on his doorstep frightened out of his mind; The old man was starting to feel overwhelmed. His body was physically worn down due to his mental state. He was grateful that Araijah and Neugdae were there for him, as the pair of spirited youth had give him a much needed reprieve from all the stress, by fussing over the Hingan with their doting concerns for his well being. He couldn’t keep running on the same track. Things needed to change soon.

He was temporarily ripped from his thoughts and his transcribing task at hand when he felt a low thrum of energy from beneath his feet. He knew where that was coming from. Slowly he turned to look toward the bookshelf behind him near the stained glass window, his senses starting to slip almost as if someone had tied a rope around him and was starting to pull. That overwhelming sensation pulled right down that secret passage and into the lower basement chamber. This had been happening more and more lately, despite the wards he had in place- which he checked on religiously. Among the many other’s he had to deal with, it had been a distraction he didn’t dare bring up.

Knock, Knock.

The Raen jumped in his seat when the knock came, startling him out of his wits and pulling him back to reality. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily when the door slid open. Whether he was prepared to accept visitors or not, in stepped the slender female Raen who had been staying with him. The purple haired woman leaned in the sliding doorway as she watched her brother for a moment, her tail swaying from side to side. Hisao had already turned back to his work at hand, pushing all other thoughts aside while she stood there in silence. It was an odd tension between them. Yui was one of the few who still talked to him within their immediate family, but it didn’t mean their relationship wasn’t strained. Somehow, he had a feeling he knew what she wanted to discuss, and it was a conversation he still wasn’t entirely ready for.

“Yes?” He asked finally, finding her silence more irritating than anything else. It made him nervous.

“I have been here for over a week now. I need to get back to Kugane, the holiday is coming up and it’s my busiest season. I have work to do. Have you made a decision on what you want to do?” She was forward, and straight to the point.

“I will not be requiring your services yet. I’m still not certain on what to do.” He said quietly.  He set the quill pen down onto a small rectangular pen holder while watching the red ink dribble from the metal tip across the porcelain surface. Poetic that he would be using red ink in transcribing Thavnarian blood magic.

Clearly the small woman didn’t like his answer and she frowned quite hard at the back of the old man’s head. Striding over to lean against his desk as she peered down at him, folding her arms over her chest- yes her displeasure with her older brother was quite well known with her body language alone.

“You’ve been miserable. You’ve had more mood swings since I’ve been here in a week than you’ve ever felt in your entire life. You need to make a choice.” She scolded.

“I’m looking for alternative solutions.” Hisao explained.

Yui rolled her eyes. She was frustrated, clearly. While her stay in the Shroud had been an entertaining one, she was getting restless. She couldn’t wait on Hisao to hem and haw over this forever. So she walked around his chair to the other side of his desk and opened a drawer. Hisao immediately felt violated as the young woman began rifling through his things and he simply growled.

“What are you doing?”

She produced a handful of loose blank parchment and then promptly grabbed his quill from his desk, spinning and marching off into the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder.

“I’m just going to write you the rituals. I can’t sit here and wait for you to make a decision.” She sighed, sitting down at the table as she began scribbling out ritualistic instructions she knew off the top of her head. She ought to know them, she performed them quite often for her clientele back in the east. “I do know other rituals, but they require some really heavy-handed spell components. Ones you may not want to even bother with. Regardless- I’ll write them down anyways so you can pick and choose what is convenient for you.“

Brows knit together as the older Raen stood in the doorway leading into the kitchen, staring after her with quiet fury. There were other things he could have done? Why didn’t she tell him from the beginning? A quiet fury began to build in the older man as he took deep breaths, trying not to explode on the woman as he strode over to the table where she sat, watching her transcribe on stolen parchments.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” He asked firmly.

“Because it’s a lot of work!” she gestured with a huff.

“I didn’t ask for the simplest and easiest solution. I’m looking for the best solution, regardless of the amount of ritual work it takes. How dare you-“

“They all come with sacrifices, Hisao.”

The older Hingan eventually fell silent and sighed heavily. He couldn’t argue with Yui, and she was right- she needed to go home. He only wished she could stay longer- perhaps for another week. If she could write him the rituals, then he could easily perform them on his own or with assistance. He really didn’t need her there in the end, he just needed the spells.

“When are you heading back?” He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose as he moved to slump in a chair across from her at the table. “I was thinking of leaving tonight, head to Thanalan and do some shopping before hopping an airship to Limsa Lominsa. Probably stay there for a day or so then head out in two days.” She cast a glance to her brother thoughtfully.

Hisao reflected on her words for a moment before turning and heading back into the study silently, sinking down into the chair at his desk. Leaning heavily to one side, chin in the palm of his hand, the Raen stared off to the flickering burning candles just to the left of him. Fire was hypnotizing at times, but it allowed him to think while he stared into the brilliance of that light. Too many things to think about. Too many thoughts to process, too many emotions of despair not his own. Even when his own were mixed into the lot, it was like throwing gasoline onto the fire. Then there were the random influxes of pleasure, sadness, rage, and self-doubt. Yui was right. He couldn’t sit on this any longer. He was miserable.

Casting his gold eyes away, he peered at a new fresh leather-bound journal he’d purchased the other day. His conversation with Vindi had given him much to think about. The pages still blank and unused, he had yet to start compiling a list of memories into written form.

Depending on the other rituals Yui presented him with, perhaps he wouldn’t need to.

#ffxiv #short story #hisao osamuki #rp

[agirlinjapan]

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars (Week 23)

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Help me pay for my next translation project on Ko-fi.

It’s nearly summer! There’s another twenty or so days left of school and then we’re done! I think we’re all ready for the vacation (students and teachers), but we still have some fun things to do before we say goodbye including a major class trip and the musical. It should be a good last few days!

RDG will be going back to a weekly posting schedule starting on June 23 and going through the end of August.

We will be finishing RDG early in September!

Last year, Noriko Ogiwara, the author, published a book of RDG short stories titled Ice Shoes, Glass Shoes. I bought this while I was in Japan last summer, and I do plan to translate it like I have the rest of the series. However, I’d like to start a new project after RDG 6 ends and then speckle those short stories in here and there as I go.

I’ll have more information on what that next project will be as we get closer to the end of RDG. I tend to post more detailed information about my translation on my RDG translation twitter. Click the link above and follow if you’d like to hear more.

Finally, happy 5 year anniversary to the RDG translation! I can’t believe it’s been this long!

Translation notes:

This is what a Heian era nobleman would wear.

This is an ascetic monk/mountain monk outfit.

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Winter Solstice Part 3 (1 of 2)

With Mayura’s help, Izumiko quickly decided on what she would wear to Saturday’s party.

Coming to the conclusion that buying something that could only be worn to a party would be a waste, they had decided to buy outfits they could wear on a normal day out and then accented them with corsages and jewelry. During the holiday season, any accessory shop was full to the brim with cute items. Izumiko and Mayura had gone from one to another, enjoying themselves, and buying things here and there.

But then, two days before the party, it was time to carry the decorations over to the space where the party would occur. Hoshino, the planning chief, declared their new outfits unnecessary.    

“We placed a rental order with the same group we used for the festival, so we have professionals to help us set up and break down. Plus, we get ten costume rentals included in the price. We have the teachers’ permission to use those rentals, and we’re planning to have the student government wear them. Claus has dibs on the Santa Claus costume, but we have costumes for the rest of the members, too. This is my decision as planning chief.”

The only people looking at each other in surprise were the first years. The second years appeared to somehow already be aware of this decision. They all looked calm.

Angelica was also at the meeting that day. “I always planned to go to the party in costume, so I’ll be attending in my own outfit,” she said brightly. “My highly esteemed father brought me one.”

The first year student government members looked at each other again. It was becoming clearer that Angelica’s showy Warring States era costume from the festival had been a product of her father’s interest in anime. They were sure her next costume would be something amazing, too.

“Will we be able to… choose the costume we like?” Shimamoto asked the chief nervously.  

“You can choose from what’s being ordered,” Hoshino replied sternly. “Choice number one is the Cinderella series. Choice two, the Little Red Riding Hood series. Choice three, animal costumes. That’s it.”

“What? Just those three?”

“During the school festival, we could only dress as kuroko, right? This time instead of just that, we’re all going to work at this party in the showiest costumes possible. It’s important that we make our guests feel welcome.”

Once Hoshino was finished speaking, Honoka spoke up, her voice serious as well. “Right. Obviously, Ichijo Takayanagi will be planning to talk himself up in one way or another while Izumiko does her best to not draw attention to herself. I think it would be good for Izumiko to choose an animal costume so that she can hide her braids. Everyone else will choose whatever showy costume they want, and do their best to make it hard for Takayanagi to stand out. President Murakami can’t make it on Saturday, but those are the instructions he’s left for us.”

Mayura appeared to automatically agree with the plan. “I get it. So that’s how we’re going to do it,” she murmured enthusiastically.

Manatsu raised a hand quickly. “I’ll choose an animal costume, too. I’ve always wanted to try one on.

“What costume are you going to choose, President Kisaragi?”

Once asked, Honoka puffed out her chest, and answered. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to be the prince from Cinderella. I wouldn’t give up that costume to anyone else.”

Knowing that she would have never chosen a princess costume, all eyes turned to Hayakawa who was looking visibly upset over this development. Clearly, he had been hoping for this costume as well.

On the day of the party, once everyone was changed into the costumes they had rented and got a chance to see what everyone else was wearing, it was plain to see that Honoka’s prince costume was far more impressive than anyone had expected. The whole Cinderella series had an early eighteenth century Rococo look to it. The prince costume was comprised of a tailcoat embroidered in gold and silver thread, a frilly shirt, shoes complete with ribbons, and a curly, white wig. No one had ever seen such a formally dressed prince costume before this.

The second-year bespectacled duo had chosen to dress as the prince’s attendants and were wearing something similar to Honoka with black hats tilted far back on their heads. They would walk around carrying a glass shoe, looking for a girl who might be able to fit into it.

It had been decided that Izumiko would wear a reindeer costume. It would go well with Claus’s Santa suit, thus keeping the spotlight off of her.

In a spare room, Izumiko slowly tried to pull the brown costume on over a t-shirt and light pants. Seeing as she was so petite, the pants attached to the bodysuit were far too long, but not so oversized that she wouldn’t be able to walk in it.

“This is the first time I’ve worn an animal costume…”

“Generally, I’d say there aren’t many people who have.” Mayura laughed as she closed the fastener at the back of Izumiko’s costume. She was wearing a kerchief over her hair with a patched blouse that matched a well-worn skirt and apron. There was soot on her face as well. For the second half of the party though, she would change into a Rococo princess dress, which would make her the flashiest person in the room.

“The chairman will probably be on the party floor today, so Sagara and I will make contact with him and try to figure out what the adults here have planned,” Mayura informed Izumiko. “You, on the other hand, should stay as far away from the chairman and the other adults as possible.”

“Right.”

The reindeer head was overly large, and looked as silly on Izumiko as it would have on a child. As a result, there was something charming about the way the antlers and muzzle rested over her head and face. Unfortunately, however, the mask’s big, round eyes were at the height of her forehead, and the only way she could see out was through the mask’s mouth. The opening there had netting stretched across it, creating a small window. That made Izumiko’s line of sight narrow, and when the head shifted even slightly, Izumiko lost her view. All in all, it was difficult for her to see the world beyond the inside of the reindeer head.

The polyurethane crafted head might have been a pain to wear, but at least it wasn’t heavy. Still, it was difficult to move in seeing as she couldn’t see her feet very well. What was more, as she didn’t know how tall she was in the reindeer head and kept bumping into this and that as she made her way out of the empty room. The whole getup was much harder to manage than she had thought it would be. Mayura held her hand all the way to the auditorium where the party was being held.

And so, when they arrived in the hall, they were surprised to see someone in a wolf costume, not unlike Izumiko’s, jumping around excitedly. Obviously, it was Manatsu, but Izumiko still couldn’t believe he could move around like that.

Mayura was also amazed by her brother.

“What’s up with you bouncing around like that? Is it really that fun to wear an animal costume?”

“Nah. That’s not why I’m so happy,” the wolf with its tongue sticking out said in Manatsu’s voice. He pointed towards something with a gloved hand. “If you look at Little Red Riding Hood, you’ll know why the wolf is so excited.”

They turned their heads to see a cute girl wearing a bright red cloak and holding a basket. She was standing nearby, surrounded by second year students. It was Wataru Shimamoto, grinning from ear to ear from all the praise he was getting.

Staring at the very cute Red Riding hood, it sounded very much as if Mayura muttered under her breath, “Oh no. He’s going to get way more attention than me.”

There was someone dressed as an old witch in a black cloak standing next to Shimamoto. It was Rena Akinokawa in the outfit, which only made Shimamoto seem that much more innocent in his own costume.

“The student government went all the way with this. Do you think it’ll be enough that Takayanagi will give up on standing out?”

Manatsu answered his sister’s question, his voice uninterested. “You don’t need to worry about that. Look over there.”

Izumiko reached up and moved the reindeer head with her hand so that she could look in the direction he had indicated. Ichijo Takayanagi had just walked through the entrance to the hall. Indeed, she could see why there was no need for them to worry about him tonight. Takayanagi’s costume was a Heian era noble’s outfit. The overshirt he wore with hakama pants was dark blue and the shirt underneath was red and white. To complete the look, he wore a tall, black, narrow hat on his head. The whole ensemble made Takayanagi’s small frame larger than it normally appeared.

…He went way too far…  

Izumiko and Mayura were left speechless as they watched Takayanagi approach. The costume didn’t make any sense in the context of a Christmas party, but it certainly matched the wearer.

“Thank you for dropping your barrier today,” Takayanagi said in his Heian attire. He stared straight at Izumiko in her reindeer costume. “I knew as soon as it disappeared this morning. I made a new shikigami. Isn’t that great?”

“…Ah, sure.” Izumiko emphasized her words with a careful nod of the reindeer head. First thing that morning, she had recited the charm Miyuki had taught her. However, as she hadn’t sensed anything change, this was the first time since then that she knew for sure that it had worked.

Right… There are going to be shikigami around today, and I’m going to have to deal with them.        

“Don’t use your shikigami for anything so big that you make trouble for the people around you,” Izumiko said, intending to sound firm, but Takayanagi was unfazed.

“I can’t really guarantee that. No matter what you might tell me, I’m the one in charge today.”

Mayura, standing there in her housekeeper’s costume complete with a long broom, scowled. “If Izumiko says to do something, you do it,” she broke in. “You’re just a diviner who uses minions to do your bidding. If you do what you want to do, we’ll kick you out of here.”

Takayanagi ignored Mayura. He turned back to Izumiko and continued on in the same tone as before. “Izumiko, you should be more receptive towards shikigami. We diviners are well versed in using spirits. You should know more about what we do just in case you ever want to join us. True cooperation cannot be achieved where there is no understanding, wouldn’t you agree?”  

“I’m guessing you want me to say that from here on out, I’ll let you use shikigami anytime you want on campus?” Izumiko responded cautiously.

“I’m acting as the top of the school’s public face because of your own strategies, aren’t I? Being who I am, I want to know a little more about you seeing as you’ve hidden yourself away from the public eye all this time. That way, I can be useful to you on my own terms even when you do not lift the seal on my abilities. While you might have sworn that you will not release the bonds you have placed on me, might it be correct that we’ll never fully come to a true understanding of each other as long as we are held within this arrangement?”

What he’s saying is true… Izumiko thought.

No one wanted to be controlled, Izumiko considered vaguely to herself. With that said though, she seemed to be fine being the one controlling someone else. She hadn’t thought about it that way until now, and it made her inwardly cringe.

“That’s true, but… Takayanagi, is there any way that I can convince you to stop using shikigami for good?”

“Using shikigami is the foundation of diviner’s magic. That’s something you’re unwilling to accept, isn’t it? However, like the Soudas, you can’t say that you feel uncomfortable dealing with the spirits of the dead. You’re working with one right now, aren’t you?”

Again, Izumiko couldn’t help but think over the words Takayanagi had said so confidently.

“Izumiko, don’t listen to him,” Mayura said sharply. She had not been tempted to rethink her opinions. “He was born talking garbage.”

Miyuki’s voice was suddenly audible from the side of their small gathering. “That’s so true. Save all those fancy words you’re trying to confuse Izumiko with for after this party. You should know that whatever you say, it’s not going to work anyway.”

Izumiko hadn’t seen Miyuki in the auditorium before now, but it seemed as if he had been close enough to hear the conversation that was going on. She turned the reindeer head to look at him and her eyes instantly went wide.

“Sagara… that costume…”

“It’s just a costume.”

“But it’s…”

“I said, it’s just a costume.”

Miyuki’s appearance was shocking enough to rival Takayanagi’s Heian outfit. He was dressed in full ascetic monk garb, complete with a wide shouldered traditional vest adorned with soft, pom pom looking decorations worn over hakama pants. There were cloth wrist coverings on his arms and straw sandals on his feet. He was wearing a stiff looking hat on his head and a braided cord wrapped around his waist held a small leather pelt in place against his back that would have been useful if he had needed to sit down on wet or dirty ground. And of course, he was holding a staff in his hands.

This was the first time even Izumiko had seen Miyuki dressed in full ascetic monk attire. However, she had absolutely no clue why he had gone to such lengths.

“But that’s not the costume the student government rented,” Izumiko said.

Miyuki answered in a strained voice. “One of the other students grabbed mine before I could get to it and the only costume left was Cinderella’s sister. I wasn’t crazy about either of them, but between the two, this seemed like the better choice.”

“Those are some interesting choices…”

Mayura looked as if she were about to say something, but she held her tongue with Takayanagi there with them.

Shimamoto, standing a bit apart from them, had something to say though.

“Oh man, too bad, Sagara!” he called over. “So I’m really the only guy dressed as a girl here?”

“Shut up. You can’t complain about something while everyone’s complimenting you on it,” Miyuki retorted.

He looked towards Takayanagi next. “I don’t think Izumiko’s power and your magic really have much in common, but if you’re saying you want to work together, we can probably come up with some sort of compromise or agreement. From here on, we need focus on figuring out more about how the goddess works.”

Tayakanagagi took in Miyuki’s outfit with interest, just like everyone else.

“Are you saying that as the ascetic monk’s representative, Sagara?”

“Probably not. Who are the people who are coming to see the World Heritage Candidate student today? Are they parents of exchange students?”

Takayanagi’s tone relaxed at Miyuki’s question. “It’s not necessarily going to be all foreigners. There could be some Japanese inspectors too. Either way, they’ll be people who know a lot about World Heritage.”

“Can they see shikigami?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. People’s understanding of shikigami most likely varies from place to place. A Japanese inspector would be more likely to know the same things we do because they’re Japanese.” Takayanagi readjusted his hat with a hand and then continued. “That’s the case with anything based in history. I don’t believe most average people in the world today can distinguish between diviners and ascetic monks. Therefore, I see nothing wrong with what I said before. It would be possible for Izumiko to join the diviners.”

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 6 #rdg my wish on the night of the shooting stars #rdg 6 week 23 #translation

[fuck-you-i-am-spiderman]

Ho Ho Hollstein!

A one-shot gift for @sizzlingcloudkitten ~ from your Secret Santa xoxo

I hope you enjoy it! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

↳ Ao3 Link

A week out from Christmas and Laura was certain Carm wasn’t jumping for joy about the upcoming Holiday season, they’d had many debates over why Christmas was a quote un-quote ‘Stupid Holiday’. Laura had instigated a temporary cease fire after Carmilla had been rather inventive with some more suggestive uses for sugary snacks, and though Laura may never look at a candy cane the same she had decided to give convincing Carmilla of the holiday magic one last shot. Her hopes weren’t very high considering the last time they had attempted to do some last minute shopping. Carmilla had spent half the time making snarky comments about the frosted decorations, rolling her eyes at the Santa in the mall and had proceeded to steal an alarming number of gingerbread cookies before Laura had forcefully shoved her away from the stall, scolding her for all of a few minutes before she had caved and ran back to grab a handful herself.

So when Laura trudged home after a long day of work she didn’t expect to see her beautiful girlfriend in their front room wrestling a real (yes, real) 7 ft Christmas tree into their tiny apartment. Her bag fell to the floor, her jaw practically joining it as she looked around the room in astonishment. All around the front room fairy lights were carefully and meticulously strung. The Hufflepuff blanket that usually covered the sofa was replaced with a deep red velvet looking throw and the cushions that Carmilla claimed to despise were scattered near the arm rests. The mirror that rested above the fireplace (Carmilla’s unlimited trust fund had secured them that beauty) now had a snowflake sticker border and below, hung on the mantelpiece, were two Christmas stockings. Laura’s stocking was a soft yellow colour like the sun starting to set and had the Hufflepuff crest embroidered on the front with ‘Laura Eileen Hollis’ stitched in cursive along the white top. It was a little worn and the stitching was a little loose but it was handmade from her father and Laura wasn’t about to part with it any time soon. On the other side was Carmilla’s stocking - another gift from Sherman Hollis who insisted that Carmilla must join in with the Hollis family traditions despite Carmilla trying and failing to persuade him not to. Though she would never admit it out loud, Laura knew Carmilla was moved by the gesture. Carmilla’s stocking was a deep purple colour with black piping along the top and her name stitched in white cursive thread. In the centre a cartoon panther lay asleep embroidered into the fabric. Laura’s grin widened when she saw several perfectly wrapped stocking filler shaped presents sticking out of each stocking.

Her eyes drifted down towards the logs in front of the fire each crafted with different artistic designs. Laura chuckled as she caught sight of several screaming painted faces, of course Carmilla would make her want to rescue a bunch of wooden logs. Shaking her head she spun around, finally catching Carmilla’s eye as her girlfriend finished propping up the tree. Carmilla startled, her hand instinctively moving up to scratch the back of her neck as a shy smile worked its way onto her face.

“H-hey Creampuff, didn’t see you there.”

Laura stepped closer, smile widening.

“I can see that. What’s all this? I seem to remember someone saying a ‘holiday where you can’t kill someone is a stupid holiday’.” Laura says in a terrible impression of Carmilla, raising her eyebrow expectantly.

Carmilla barks out a laugh, moving closer to Laura as she speaks. “First, I don’t talk like that.”

Laura flashes her a mock glare sticking her tongue out as Carmilla smirks in response.

“and I still think it’s a worthless over commercialised, over-expensive sad excuse for a-”

Laura starts to pout so Carmilla continues with a playful eye roll. “-anyway, I know how much Christmas means to you so I figured I could give this stupid holiday another chance.” She says with a nonchalant shrug.

Laura steps closer, her pout replaced with a dazzling smile of adoration as she pulls Carmilla in for a tight hug.

“I’m ignoring that insult because you are the best girlfriend ever!” Laura exclaims leaning in to capture Carmilla’s lips in a soft kiss.

She pulls back and this time it’s Carmilla who pouts. Laura grins, pecking Carmilla’s lips a few more times before her excitement takes over, clapping eagerly as her eyes fill with joy.

“I’ve seen that look before.” Carmilla comments warily.

“I know what would make this even better!” Laura shouts darting out of the room with far too much determination for Carmilla’s liking.

‘Please don’t be what I think it is.’ Carmilla mutters to herself, knowing she’s lost when she hears Laura start to rummage through their closet. It can only mean one thing…

****

“Carm, you have to smile!” Laura reiterated for the 10th time, huffing when Carmilla’s pout intensifies.

“You promised we would do this.” Laura pleads, fluttering her eyelashes and giving Carmilla a soft smile, “please Carm.”

“I look like Santa threw up on me.” Carmilla whines gesturing angrily to the bright red sweater she was sporting.

“Well I think you look adorable, but I do have some other sweaters if you want to pick something else, there’s a bright pink one if you’d prefer that.” Laura suggests smirking when Carmilla aggressively shakes her head grumbling under her breath.

“I miss my old sweater.”

“Oh hush you, and for the love of Hogwarts put on the hat I gave you.” She chastises.

“Why can’t I have the antlers?”

“Geez, stop being so difficult!”

Another groan is her response, their eyes meet both glaring at one another before Carmilla whines - actually whines and grabs the Santa’s hat placing it on her head and then turning away defiantly.

“Aw come on, if you smile for one picture I will make it worth your while.” Laura says in a suggestive tone, lowering her voice as she leans in to trail kisses down Carmilla’s neck.

Carmilla hums and tilts her head to give Laura more room, the soft brushes of Laura’s lips becoming more insistent as Carmilla’s face starts to heat up. Laura starts to kiss her way back up her neck and then her jaw, finally kissing her lips and nipping lightly. Carmilla tugs her closer, her hands tangling in Laura’s hair, playing with the ends of it as they melt into the embrace. Laura’s hand comes around to cup Carmilla’s neck as she deepens the kiss, her tongue brushing against Carmilla’s lower lip and begging for entrance that Carmilla willingly gives her. When they eventually break for air their foreheads press against each other, breathless with messy hair and flushed faces and matching smiles. Neither notice the self timer going off or the camera flashing and catching their candid pose before they are rushing back in, getting impossibly closer as hands start to roam. When Carmilla practically rips their sweaters off Laura can’t find it in herself to care, her chastising replaced with loud moans and cries of Carmilla’s name, their matching sweaters carelessly flung across the room.

“Have I mentioned how much I hate Christmas shopping?!” Carmilla snarks as they enter yet another shop.

“Only about 50 times today.” Laura quips back, pulling Carmilla straight towards the baking aisle.

“Do we really need to do this? I told you I was only joking.”

“You challenged me and you know how much I love a challenge.” Laura responds grinning as she grabs some supplies.

Carmilla shakes her head but can’t keep the smile from her face when Laura pokes her tongue out in concentration, turning to her with a determined smile.

“We’re going to need a basket. Wait here.” Laura says mostly to herself as she rushes away in search of a basket.

She returns moments later armed with a basket which already contains several boxes of chocolate chip cookies, which Carmilla knows are definitely not essential to their baking competition and she can’t resist teasing her a little.

“I don’t think 5 packets of cookies are needed for a gingerbread house Cupcake.”

Laura’s cheeks redden as she playfully shoves Carmilla who chuckles before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her head.

“If you don’t stop teasing me I won’t share my cookies with you.” Laura states folding her arms and glaring at her girlfriend.

“Oh please, we both know you won’t be sharing them with me regardless.” Carmilla replies with a smug smile, smirking more when Laura huffs and stomps in front.

It takes all of a few strides for her to catch up, pulling Laura in for a soft kiss and continuing their shop holding hands.

They take a coffee breaks which consists of Carmilla insisting that Laura perch in her lap as she seductively sucks excess whipped cream from her finger. It takes everything Laura has not to act on her lust; she fails and ends up dragging Carmilla by her scarf to the Starbucks bathroom. They leave hastily, smoothing their clothes and combing their very obvious sex hair and trying to hide the embarrassment, it turns to full blown laughter when they catch sight of an elderly couple staring at them in horror.

When they return to their apartment, bags bursting, their lust is momentarily forgotten and replaced by fierce competition and teasing trash talk.

***

Carmilla chuckled as Laura swore again, glaring at her as she plucked another icing pen out of Laura’s reach.

“Quit hogging the pens!” Laura whined reaching across to snatch it.

Carmilla smirked, waiting until Laura was an inch away before moving to hold the pen above her head.

“Carm! Just give me-” again Laura grabbed Carmilla’s hand tugging at her arm to take the pen and once again Carmilla moved it away smirking as Laura’s eyebrows sharpened, her eyes narrowing as she glared, actually stomping her foot in protest.

“You are such a cheater!”

“You’re such a sore loser Creampuff.” Carmilla teased.

“Am not!” Laura snaps.

“I love that bunched up face you make when you’re mad, it’s hot.” Carmilla says winking as Laura growls in response.

“Well I must be breathtaking because I’m furious!”

Carmilla shakes her head with a smile, placing the pen on the kitchen island and wrapping an arm around Laura’s shoulder, soothingly rubbing up and down her arm.

“How about we make the cookies together before this turns into a bloodbath.” she suggests nudging Laura’s shoulder playfully.

Laura bites her lip pausing before she relents, nodding with a small smile. Her eyes fall to the pile of cookies Carmilla had made instead of a house.

“Gingerbread zombies? Really Carm?!” Laura laughs as Carmilla shrugs with an awkward smile.

***

Carmilla had been trying and failing to read her book for the past hour and a half.

First she was distracted by Laura insisting they kiss under every strategically placed string of mistletoe (not that she complained). Then Laura had wrestled with Carmilla over which object should become their tree topper, which had resulted in Carmilla having to suffer through a Laura Hollis pout after she’d shot down the idea of Laura’s custom made Lois Lane figurine decorating their tree - in her defence it was twice as heavy as most of the other decorations and it had taken her hours to secure the far too large tree in their apartment. After the pouting had finally ceased Laura had decided that the apartment was “too quiet” and the holidays songs were blasted.

Carmilla sat in the chair watching as Laura bobbed around shimmying and doing the most outrageously cheesy moves as she proceeded to belt ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ for the fourth time. Four times and Carmilla had finally had enough, slamming her book closed as she stormed over to the speakers. As if she could sense the nightmare that was turning her music off Laura spun around eyes widening as Carmilla started to unhook her phone. “Nooooo!” Laura shrieked running over to her girlfriend, standing protectively in front of the speakers. “I won’t let you turn it off.”

“If I hear one more Mariah Carey song I will riot.” Carmilla quipped holding up a finger threateningly.

“Don’t be such a grinch.” Laura shot back. “It’s my phone and I say the Christmas music stays on.”

Carmilla clenched her jaw, sighing before an idea forms and she pushes Laura aside.

“Hey!-”

Carmilla instantly shushes her with a kiss on the nose, turning back to finish her typing. Laura waits in confusion, a second later soft lyricless music plays - it’s an old song that Laura doesn’t recognise but there’s a smile on Carmilla’s face so she can’t bring herself to change it. She matches the smile when Carmilla grabs her hand, twirling her closer as they move to the music, falling into a classic waltz.

“See, this is much better than that other drivel.”

Laura hums resting her head against Carmilla’s shoulder as they sway to the music.

“You’ve been quieter today.” Laura comments. “I know you miss her, maybe one day you can tell me about some of your holiday traditions.”

They fall into a comfortable silence letting the soft tones guide their movements. When Laura tilts her head up Carmilla meets her half way pecking her lips softly. As they pull away Laura can see how Carmilla’s eyes glisten, a sad smile replacing the gentle one she had only moments ago.

“I didn’t meant to upset you Carm. I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to hold back, I love you - all of you and I’m sorry that I ever made you feel as though you have to hide parts of yourself from me.” Their eyes locked and Laura smiled soft, her hands coming to rest on Carmilla’s shoulders.

“I know.” Carmilla whispered ducking her head as a tear escaped her.

Laura moved a hand under her chin, tilting her head back up as she used her thumb to catch the tear. She lent in, kissing Carmilla’s cheeks and then kissing her lips; she could feel Carmilla’s tears falling and how Carmilla’s lip trembled against her own. She pulled Carmilla closer, pouring everything she wanted to say into their embrace.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Laura uttered the words against Carmilla’s lips, repeating them softly everytime they broke apart.

Carmilla shuddered against her, pulling back as she choked out a laugh, the sound harsh and broken.

“Mattie would be calling me a sap right about now.”

“That sounds like something she would do.” Laura agreed keeping a tight hold on Carmilla as she let her continue.

“There weren’t any traditions as such, but, she- she would take us to a rooftop and we’d look at the stars and for that one night we could be free. Free from Maman and the burdens we faced, we would laugh and sing, watching as lanterns filled the sky or as the snow started to fall. It was something Mattie could give me that no one could take away.”

As Carmilla spoke Laura could hear the passion in her voice, the softness as she spoke her sister’s name, her voice turning wistful.

“I just- I know you have the dimwit squad and the ginger twins and we have your dad, and I am so unbelievably grateful that I get to share this life with you but there’s an ache, I can’t help but wish she were here too. I’m scared of forgetting her.” Carmilla answers, tears welling up once more.

“I don’t think you could forget her even if you wanted to.” Laura brushes a lock of hair behind Carmilla’s ear before continuing, “it’s okay to miss her Carm. I know Mattie and I didn’t always see eye to eye but I would love to hear about your adventures - I’m sorry if me pushing Christmas upset you.”

Carmilla shook her head squeezing Laura’s arm as she spoke, her voice softer than usual.

“I may not get this stupid holiday and yes, maybe some part of me is still hurting but I like being festive with you, I love that you sing around the house and that we wear matching sweaters. How I have to stop you from eating all of the candy canes and watching you get excited over cheesy decorations at the mall. I like it because it makes you happy, because I love you.”

Laura smiled wider than before, happy tears forming as she kissed Carmilla once and then twice pulling apart with a smirk.

“You really are a sap.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes mumbling a barely audible “shut up” and tugging Laura back towards her, their lips meeting once more. The soft music continued to play as they got lost in one another, tears replaced with much more enjoyable cries and breathy gasps. They fell asleep curled up together, soft smiles still on their faces feeling closer than ever.

#carmilla secret santa #hollstein #carmilla fanfiction #hollstein fanfiction #carmilla #my fanfics

[medicalmyanne]

MedicalMyanne’s Best of 2017: A Comprehensive Gift Guide

I am a huge fan of practical gifts. If an item can be used daily, while still reminding you of your beloved, I consider it the perfect present. Below are my Christmas/Holiday gift ideas for any student in your life, ranging from $1.75 to under $100 for 2017.

Stocking Stuffers:

1. MUJI Polycarbonate Pens - $1.75

We get it -- med students study. Make it more bearable by gifting the student in your life a decent pen they won’t lose within hours. These MUJI polycarbonate pens write like a dream. They are retractable, write smoothly, and come in 6 different ink colors (black, teal, magenta, true blue, red, and orange). These don’t tend to leak like the original MUJI capped pens (as much as I like these as well), and are great for white coat pockets, college students, and even Grandma, who loves to pen you a letter every now & then. 

2. BadgeBlooms Badge Reel - $6

Melissa is a nurse-turned-entrepreneur based in Chicago, IL. Her Etsy shop is stocked full of badge reels for every medical professional in your life. My personal favorite are her felt badges -- created into human organs, cute animals, and the most adorable inanimate objects (think - tacos, pineapples, cupcakes!). I own 2 of these myself & they are of great quality. At under $10, these would be great stocking stuffers or for several nurses on your floor while on a student budget. BadgeBloom’s huge selection gives you a chance to make it personal (everyone has a favorite animal or organ), and a badge reel is practical in its every day use. Your recipient will be reminded of you every time he/she puts on his/her badge. 

3. Glossier Balm Dot Coms (lip salve) - $12

Makeup is universal, but chapped lips shouldn’t be. As a chronic lip picker while studying, the Mint BDC has been my holy grail. Balm Dot Coms come in 6 different scents (Original/Unscented, Rose, Mint, Coconut, Cherry Birthday Cake). I have always found gifting makeup to be an extremely personal preference, but lip balm is something that gives more leeway. Mint is my personal favorite (think Burt’s Bee’s classic lip balm, but way less waxy), and I’ve gifted them to a couple of friends already. Boys -- this would be a great idea so your girl doesn’t have to exchange a foundation 3 shades too light at a Sephora 30 mins away. You can get 20% off your entire Glossier purchase using my affiliate link here. Balm Dot Coms also come in a trio -- you’ll get any 3 flavors for $30, saving yourself a cool $6. You can spend that on a Burrito Bowl all for you, and cover 3 stocking stuffers for your 3 besties this holiday season. 

4. The gift of giving back - Starbucks/Tiff’s Treats Gift Card - $20

Give for others to give -- literally. I have always been a huge fan of “just because” gifts, and with friends all fighting their own battles in grad school, I like to give a little pick-me-up to someone to brighten their day. Give a gift card to Starbucks or a food-delivery company -- not for your recipient, but so they can treat someone, too.

Recently, I’ve started placing Starbucks “To-Go” mobile orders in various locations, based on my recipient’s current location (must be within 100 miles, I believe). All your recipient has to do is pop in & pick it up -- and it’s already pre-paid by you.

If you are based in Texas, Tiff’s Treats is a cookie delivery company who delivers freshly baked cookies right to your loved one’s doorstep. I think I’ve placed over 20 orders for birthdays, as thank yous, and just a little “thinking of you” surprise. They’ve recently amped up their packaging, and you can even write a personalized note to your recipient for free. The delivery comes wrapped in a bow, and comes baked fresh & piping hot (they call your recipient to confirm their delivery prior to baking!). Give a gift card to your beloved to encourage them to treat someone special in their life, too.

Mid-Range:

5. SLMD Daytime Acne Lotion or Clarifying Treatment - $30/each

Dr. Pimple Popper, need I say more? I’ve battled with my skin nearly all of my life, and have been loving the SLMD line. The Daytime Acne Lotion is 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, which kills acne-causing bacteria, and the Clarifying Treatment contains retinol, a Vitamin A derivative shown to reduce blackheads, fine lines, and even wrinkles. I was first introduced to these when I started the  SLMD 30-Day Acne System (also a great gift idea @ $45). I loved both these items so much, when I finished the trial as well as my normal prescribed topicals, I purchased full sizes of the Acne Lotion & Clarifying Treatment to keep my stress-induced acne at bay.

6. White Coat Clipboard - $25-31

Move over PSLs & UGG boots -- it’s time for the real basic grad school essential. Sleek enough to fit into a white coat pocket, practical enough to have high-yield lab values & fit a whole stack of paper, white coat clipboards are the way to go. I have one as a hand-me-down from an upper-level and was recently given a brand new gorgeous teal one from my med school Big! They come in tons of colors (pink, purple, black, etc.). Be sure to differentiate the medical vs. nursing versions based on the future life-saver you’re giving it to. 

White Coat Clipboards are made of metal, and it folds with well-built hinges. These would also be great for high school students just starting to volunteer at hospitals, pre-meds beginning their shadowing experiences, or even physicians who’ve been in the game for a while. Its convenience & durability lasts several years, and can withstand the test of time, as well as the years dedicated to your craft.

7. A Freshly subscription - $45

Meal delivery right to your front doorstep. Not even a box of ingredients you’ll have to wash, cut, and prepare. Straight up food -- chef-prepared, packaged with care, and all you have to do is heat it up. Freshly came in so clutch during block exam weeks for me, I ordered an additional week after that and thought I lost all knowledge of how to cook after the 7 days in heaven ended. Not to mention -- their customer service is amazing. They’ll personally call you to confirm food allergies, remind you of your delivery date several hours before, and have your box filled with ice packs to keep your food fresh if you’re working late. Though “surprise” & trial boxes like FabFitFun & Sephora Play!, etc. are absolutely adorable, the greatest gift, in my opinion, is the gift of convenience & not having to wash dishes (hahah). This would be perfect for truly anyone -- a best friend, boyfriend, or a struggling classmate -- nose-deep in finals, recovering from post-call, or “just because” on a lazy week.

You can use code med639 to save $20 off your first 6 meals. I receive no commission nor compensation from this code.

BOUJEE:

8. NurseMates Anni-Lo Shoes - $76.95

These are the cutest shoes known to man. Anni-Los scream comfort with its orthotic shape & adorable mix between the Sperrys & Keds aesthetic. I have these in white & wear them literally every day. I love them so much, I actually ordered a second pair in the same size & color just in case these wear out. These run true size (I wear size 7 normally in shoes, and have these in size 7). Annie-Los can be worn with scrubs or even out in daily life, and even have a little platform that elongate & flatter your legs if you have shorter ones like me.

9. FIGS scrubs - $86

Yes. The hype is very, very real. FIGS are the most flattering scrubs in the game. It boasts a draped & tapered fit, luxe fabric, and an admirable mission to boot (buy one pair, they give a pair to a health professional in need). These are by far the most flattering scrubs I own, their customer service team is a dream to work with, and they really do believe in the concept of altruism (read about their work for Hurricane Harvey here). I am rather petite (5′3″) and a ride-or-die top-tucker. My picks are the Catarina top ($38, chest pocket for optimal tucking) & the Kade Cargo Pants ($48). They recently released a bunch of new colors (burgundy, dark harbor, white) & lots of other “lifestyle” wear. I’ve always been a fan of their lifestyle vest (comes with lots of secret pockets, which I believe is discontinued) and their long-sleeve underscrub (also the most flattering long-sleeves I wear in autumn).

You can use my code MyanneFIGS for 15% off your entire FIGS purchase. I receive no commission nor compensation from this code. FYI - right now, FIGS is offering complimentary, custom embroidering on all orders to celebrate the holiday season. Be sure to take advantage of this!

10. A freaking good pair of yoga pants - Lululemon Pace Rival Crops - $88

I found Pace Rivals completely by accident -- on a Lululemon clearance rack that was a size too big for me in Canada. These soon & very quickly became my favorite pants. Their length is extremely flattering, and the material is very durable (I feel like I don’t have to baby them as much as Aligns, which are luxuriously butter soft and also a favorite), but still breathable. Because they are a bit looser, I can hide them underneath a white coat and have it low-key kinda-sorta pass as business pants (#teamlazy). I consider Pace Rivals to be truly worth the price you pay for the usage you will get out of them. My picks are a pair in the color black for a professional monochrome look.

[tigereye771]

New Year, New Beginnings, Part 12/?

Pairing: Jon/Sansa

Part 12/?

Previous Parts: I’m just posting the link of the previous part which has links for all previous parts.

[Part 11]

When Jon re-entered the house, he found everyone gathered around the TV watching a football game. While there was still some tension between Tormund and Sandor, their taste in football teams seemed to run the same and they mutually cheered one side as Arya rooted for the other.  Jon watched the game with them for a few moments, but kept glancing around.  Sansa was missing from the group and he had assumed she was in the kitchen, but she never came out to the living room to be with them.

“Where’s Sansa?” Jon asked Bran who half watched the game and half texted on his phone.

“In her work room,” Bran replied.  At Jon’s confused look, he clarified.  “Down the small hall and to the right.  There was a sun porch that we converted into Sansa’s workroom.”

Jon nodded and headed in the direction Bran had laid out.  A few moments later he found himself hovering in the doorway as he watched Sansa on her knees fixing the hem of a dress.  His eyes went to her pert, rounded bottom before he caught himself and he cleared his throat to get her attention.  Sansa looked over her shoulder, pins in her mouth.

“Mmmf,” she began before she remembered the pins and took them out.  “Jon!  Did you need something?”

“No, just wondering where you were since everyone else is watching the game,” Jon replied as he moved into the room.  He looked around and noticed a sewing machine in one corner and a table in another. One short side of the room was just a large shelving unit that had various fabrics and other items neatly stacked in each cubby.  There was a small rattan loveseat and a chair that matched it.  A worn oriental carpet covered most of the floor and a small rolling rack with a few other pieces of clothing on hangers was pushed off to one side. Lamps illuminated the room but Jon thought with the one wall of windows that curved upwards to form a partial roof of glass that this room would be quite bright in the daytime.

“Football is not one of my favorites,” Sansa replied, making a small face that had Jon smiling slightly. He remembered when he, Robb and the younger children would play tag football on the Winterfell lawns, Sansa would always sit primly on the sidelines either with a book or some crafty thing like sewing or knitting.  At the time he thought she was too prissy and ladylike to not join in the fun, but looking back, he only felt a fondness for that Sansa.  As he watched her finish pinning the hem of the dress, he felt that fondness bloom into something warm in his chest.  

“New dress?” Jon asked nodding at the gown.  While lovely, he didn’t think it really suited Sansa.  

“No, this is something I made for a client,” Sansa replied.  

“Client?”

“Yes, I do some dressmaking on the side.  I’ve got a couple of regulars and they always want something around the holidays for the parties.”  

Sansa’s back was to Jon as she continued to work on the dress so she didn’t see how his face fell. He admired all that Sansa had done and was doing in supporting her family, but he could not help but feel anger that she was working so hard.  The café and the seasonal job were bad enough, but she was also doing dressmaking on the side?  He could see the dark circle under her eyes and the weary look that she didn’t quite manage to hide during dinner.  She was killing herself working so hard and it would be so simple to just offer her money or even a better paying job, but Jon knew she would not take it. For some reason, she was determined to do everything on her own and he felt that same resistance from Arya as well.

You can’t buy her.

Sandor’s earlier words came back to him and he indicated he wasn’t talking about Baelish.  Jon looked at the back of Sansa’s head as she continued to work.  She was pretty, beautiful. How many men have tried to prey on her knowing she was vulnerable because she was so young and needed money?  Have any succeeded?  Jon didn’t like to think about Sansa at the mercy of some man who offered her help if she offered-

Jon quashed that line of thinking.  It would do no good.  He would only get angry and Sansa would wonder why and he couldn’t say he hated the thought she might have been propositioned or worse, forced into a situation where she had to trade herself to help her family survive.

“I’m glad to see you kept up with your designing,” Jon said instead, trying to banish those dark thoughts of what else Sansa might have gone through the last few years.

Sansa sat back on her heels and looked up at the dress.  “It does feel nice to still have my hand in it.”  Her voice was wistful.

“It’s not too late,” Jon replied.  “You can always go back to school, change…careers.”  

Sansa shrugged and continued to work.  “Maybe. But right now, I have to be practical.”

Jon felt sadness descend on him as he continued to watch Sansa work.  It wasn’t fair that she had to shoulder such responsibilities at such a young age.  It wasn’t fair to any of the Stark children.  

Jon continued watching Sansa work. The silence didn’t feel awkward or strained, in fact, it was rather comforting.  While the room was clearly a work space for Sansa, it also had a cozy and calm quality to it.  Jon could imagine himself reading in the afternoons in such a space as Sansa quietly continued working.  It was a pretty and enticing picture.

“How’s living with Rhaegar?” Sansa suddenly asked, breaking the tranquility that had surrounded him.

Jon sighed.  “I’m still not completely comfortable around him and Dany.  My aunt,” Jon clarified when Sansa raised an eyebrow and realized she may not be familiar with the family nickname.  

“It’ll just take time. There’s no timetable for these things, Jon,” Sansa continued.  She frowned at her work and then made an adjustment.  “Maybe you should consider getting your own place.”

Jon was startled. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you live and work with them.  That must get overwhelming at times.  Maybe having your own space will make things easier.”

Jon paused.  Rhaegar had swooped in the moment he was released from the hospital and he had been living with his father and aunt ever since. Jon simply hadn’t thought about finding his own place.   Living with them also was a source of friction with Ygritte.

“You might be right,” Jon replied slowly.  “And it might help things with Ygritte. She doesn’t get along with Rhaegar and Dany.”

“Ygritte?”

Jon went on to explain about his girlfriend, realizing that aside from saying he had a girlfriend, he hadn’t said much about her to Sansa or any of the Starks.  He felt a small stab of shame for having so easily forgotten about her when he was with the Starks.

Sansa nodded as Jon talked about his girlfriend, not letting him know she had already met the woman. There was no point in talking about that, but she couldn’t help feel a small flicker of disappointment.  They were obviously serious if Jon moved her in with his family and was now considering moving out into a new place in order to make her feel more comfortable.

“It must be hard for her, being so far away from home and what she’s used to,” Sansa replied when Jon had explained his history with Ygritte and the friction between her and his newfound family.

“Sometimes I don’t think she’s even trying.” Jon was surprised at how bitter his words were.

Sansa looked at him thoughtfully.  “Have you talked to her about it?”

Jon sighed.  “You mean when she’s not out partying?”

“Not quite your thing, going clubbing and dancing, eh?”

“Was it ever my thing?”

Sansa chuckled. “No.  I don’t seem to recall you being a fan of that.  Still from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you and Ygritte simply haven’t had much time for yourselves.  Maybe all you two need is just some time away from everything and everyone?”

Jon paused as he pondered her words.  It was true. He had been in the hospital and went from there to Rhaegar’s and there hadn’t been time for him and Ygritte to really connect after discovering he was not who he had led her to believe.  A small part of Jon began to squirm uncomfortably, wondering if the man Ygritte loved and cared for was the persona he crafted for his undercover work and not him.  Had the two of them made this awful mistake based upon a cover?

“Maybe you’re right,” Jon said slowly.  “Ygritte and I really haven’t had a chance to get to know each other when I’m not, well, pretending to be someone else.”

“Sansa?”

They both looked up and saw Arya standing in the doorway.  “Gendry and Sandor are leaving now.”

“Oh, I have some leftovers in the fridge for them.  I’ll go get them,” Sansa stood up and left the room, Jon on her heels.   Jon watched as she handed Sandor a bag filled with Tupperware containers and leftovers from the meal. She gave a similar bag to Gendry.

“The car looks good, Little Bird,” Sandor assured Sansa, earning a snort from Arya.

“Thank you for providing a different set of eyes, both you and Gendry,” Sansa replies.  “I also put some cookies in there so remember to take those out and not shove the whole bag into the refrigerator.”

The two men bid good night to the Starks, Sandor looking at the clock and then giving Jon a pointed look who firmly planted his feet and decided he was not going to leave at least for another half hour.  He changed his mind a few minutes later when he saw how weary Sansa look and Tormund frowning at Jon too.

“I guess we should get going also,” Jon said.  “I know you have an early day tomorrow and it’ll be my first day at TI.”  

“It’ll be fine,” Sansa replied.  He saw her hesitate a moment and then hand both himself and Tormund two small packages. “I normally give Sandor and Gendry some left overs because they live alone and neither can cook. I didn’t think you two would be interested, but I did pack up some cookies for you both. You don’t have to ta-“ Tormund snatched his package out of Sansa’s hand quickly and exclaimed.

“Your cookies?  Of course we want them!” He held the package up to his nose and inhaled deeply.  “Chocolate chip?”

Sansa looked at the big man in amusement.  “Close. Double chunk, chocolate chip with M&Ms.”

“Marry me,” Tormund groaned as he clutched the package close to his heart.  “Just let me toss you over my shoulder and I’ll steal you away from this life!”

Sansa laughed but Jon scowled at his friend.  “Can’t you just say thank you like a normal person?”

“Not when cookies are involved,” Tormund replied.  “Milady, your humble servant thanks you for the lovely meal and the cookies.”  He held up the package.  “And if this wanker doesn’t eat his, I definitely will.  My offer of marriage stands because not every woman cooks as divinely as you.”

“Tormund, just go wait in the car!” Jon snapped as Sansa giggled over his friend’s antics.  As soon as Tormund left with a hollered goodbye to Bran and Arya and a wink to Sansa, Jon turned back to Sansa.  “Thank you for the cookies and sorry for Tormund.”

“It’s fine.  He’s got his own certain charm.”

“Well, he’s right about one thing though, your cookies are terrific.  Thank you, Sansa.”  He paused simply looking into Sansa’s eyes for a moment and saw her returning his gaze.

“Night, Jon!” Bran suddenly called out, breaking the mood.

“Bran,” Jon nodded to him. “We’re doing the movies on Wednesday, right?  Us and Arya.” He looked inquiringly at Sansa who shook her head.  ‘Work’ she mouthed and Jon nodded understandingly.  “We’ll go get pizza that night.”

“Thank the Gods no turkey!” Arya replied. “’Night, Jon!”

Jon chuckled and turned back to Sansa.  “Good night, Sansa.”

“Good night, Jon. Thank you for all your help today.”  She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Jon felt his face heat and his mouth form into a smile as he nodded at Sansa and nearly stumbled out of her door.  When he got into his car he saw Tormund looking pointedly at him and at the spot on his cheek where Sansa had kissed him.

“Not a word, Tormund. Not a word,” he warned his friend.

#jonsa fanfic #jonsa fic #jon x sansa fic #jon x sansa fanfic #jonsa fanfiction

[kansascityhappenings]

30 day plan to remove clutter from house this fall

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Right after Halloween and before the holiday rush is a perfect time to do some fall cleaning. Sure, everyone likes to get in a frenzy about spring cleaning, but now is a good time to concentrate on your home and avoid hunkering down too soon for the hibernation season.

Cleaning up your household and keeping some movement in your body can also help prevent weight gain from all the food gatherings about to happen in the near future. Here is a 30 day plan to keep your house clean and to ultimately help you declutter.

Before you get started, strategize. Make a note of your personal clutter “hot spots.” The table by the back door? Your bathroom counter? Underneath the bed? Make a note of these spaces and then set your notes aside. You can swap in these “hot spot” days with challenges below that are not as relevant to you.

Before getting to the clean sweep, you need four boxes for keeping, donating, recycling, and trash. You can have a “maybe” box if you’re really confused by an item or two when you get into the cleaning process. If things stay in the maybe box for 6 months, it probably can be thrown away or donated.

Day 1. Make room now for new sweaters. Go through your closet and see what you don’t wear anymore. There are several clothing shelters and churches that would be happy to take your used clothes. Your kids may have outgrown their clothes as well. Try to donate clothes that are still in good condition. A piece of clothing covered in holes might be better suited for dusting. Give yourself a goal before you start diving into the closet: are you going to fill up 3 trash bags with clothes for donations or one giant box? If an item doesn’t fit, let it go. Right now your focus should be to make room for clothes that do fit. A pro tip for clearing out clothes you don’t use: at the beginning of the year, flip all your hangers to the wrong side. As you wear something, flip the hanger for that item to the opposite, more easy to reach direction. When the year is over all the clothes that still face the wrong direction are the ones you haven’t worn.

Day 2. Clean up the closets. Now it’s time to rearrange closets in the house. You can go to TJ Maxx, Target, or Ikea for closet storage ideas. Shelves for shoes are lifesavers. You can arrange your clothes by season or by color to make it easier for you to get dressed for work. Be on the lookout for stinky shoes that may need to be thrown out altogether or need some TLC. When cleaning out the closet, make sure you get rid of any extra trash, paper, or plastic – you can easily recycle this stuff. Make sure if there are any important documents to put them together with other important pieces — it’s best to have a folder ready for these items, you can label the folder “to be filed.” Repeat this for other closets in the house. See what you don’t need, donate, and let go. Check to see if there are any coats hanging out in the coat closest that you may have kept for a few too many decades.

Day 3. Clean the refrigerator. You may have collected a few new sauces, salad dressings, and other items over the year that you’re not using and are just filing up space. Several of these bottles are recyclable. Do a good clean scrubbing of the fridge, use a combo of 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups water to get rid of stains. Make sure you don’t have any old leftovers hiding in the back. Anything with mold needs to be thrown away. Even though you might not see the mold throughout bread, cheese, or other items – any sign of mold means it has spread, and not all mold is visible to the eye. If you’re a pack rat and love to put things on the fridge, some of those items now need to move to a scrapbook or memento box. Cut the fridge decorations in half.

Day 4. Clean the pantry. Look through the pantry to see if you can find any expired foods, those need to be tossed out first. If there are any foods still in good shape but you doubt you’ll actually eat, now is a good time to donate them to a food pantry. It’s good to look through the pantry and make sure there are no cobwebs. Dust down the shelves, combine packages like multiple spaghetti boxes, and consider adding a spice rack to the Christmas list if you don’t have one already.

Day 5. Clean out the cutlery. Maybe you have had a lot of dishes passed down to you, multiple wedding gifts, or grandparents who died and willed their dishes to you, plus the cheesy ones you may have bought in college. If your kitchen is feeling crowded – or there are plenty of items never getting used – consider minimizing this. Plenty of donation places or food pantries will accept these items. You’ll want to call ahead to see if they’ll take them. Religious sites often will take these supplies. Sharpen the knives if they’re starting to get dull, spend time arranging the items if everything is in chaos, and restock the cleaning supplies under the sink if they’re looking lackluster. Also, if those cleaning supplies are getting old, it may be time to declutter there as well. If you have appliances you never use nor plan to use, let it go.

Day 6. Clean out the basement. If you have cords that you haven’t used in 10 years, it may be time to say goodbye to those. There usually are a few boxes in the basement that never get touched. It may be time to say goodbye to those boxes, or maybe they need to be rearranged. If you have lots of pictures, those could be put into scrapbooks or binders and put on shelves to help with space. It’s also a better form of preservation rather than being lumped together in boxes.

One basement cleaning method is to dump out all the boxes and force yourself to interact with the objects and see how you can put them into a practical space, or flat out get rid of the stuff. This plan might also be stressful, so think before dumping items everywhere. You’ll want to put things in four different zones: KEEP – DONATE – RECYCLE – TRASH. Label things if you haven’t. Lookout for unnecessary duplicates.

Empty everything one section at a time. Divide stuff into sections.

Group like things together. Assess your inventory. Purchase storage containers as necessary, remove duplicates as necessary.

Sort, stack, and label.

Day 7. Clean out bathrooms. Some of us have a bad habit of hoarding bathroom supplies. We’re not hoarding dragons; we’re humans with good taste, so stop keeping things you don’t need. It’s best to clean all the bathrooms at once to see if there are duplicate items. Don’t be afraid to open all the drawers and cabinets and throw away junk. Now might be a good time to recycle bottles and cut down on the products to the ones actually in use. Old lotion bottles sitting around collecting dust are doing no one any favors. Read labels carefully to see if anything has expired. Make sure to clean down all the surfaces, give the toilets a scrub, and use cleaner on the showers and bathtubs. Look for any extra soap gunk or other unwanted critters.

Day 8. Fill 2 bags with trash or recycling. Instead of focusing on a specific room, go around the house filling two bags with things that can immediately be discarded, whether for trash or recycling. Continue the process around the house until you have filled those two bags. Make sure not to throw away anything important. Some culprits for trash: old mail, candy wrappers, opened up packages, bizarre crafts, and excessive knick-knacks. Forcing yourself to get rid of trash around the house will help you to declutter and examine areas of the house that need extra sprucing up. If you have discovered a new clutter “hot spot” add that to the list you made before getting into the fall clean sweep.

Day 9. Clean out your car. Spend a couple of bucks and go get a car wash. Remove the trash in the car and use a vacuum to suck up trash, leaves, and other chunks of things that collect in the car. Look through your glove box and see if there are old files in it. Do you need paper insurance or do you have an insurance app on your phone with your IDs? Either way, one paper insurance copy will suffice in the glove box. Keep your title and other important documents, maybe the last bill from when you went to the mechanic. Most papers that are more than a year old are probably not important anymore and can be thrown away. You can put things that do seem special in your “to be filed” folder. Make sure to open up your trunk and see if there are extra items in there that you don’t need. The things you should have are: jumper cables, a spare tire, a tool kit, and a first aid kit.

Day 10. Cutting down on objects. Today you’ll be practicing the KonMari method. Marie Kondo is a famous organizing consultant from Japan. Her method of organizing is known as the KonMari method, and consists of gathering together all of your belongings one category at a time, and then keeping only those things that “spark joy” (tokimeku,the word in Japanese, means “flutter, throb, palpitate”), and choosing a place for everything for the items you keep. We’re going to simplify this somewhat. Take about 50-60 questionable items into the living room with you and hold each item for about 30 seconds and ask yourself – does this item bring me joy or did it used to bring me joy? If it used to bring you joy and serves no purpose anymore, great – it belongs in the donation or trash pile. This method can obviously take a long time if you go through the whole house, for some maybe a couple of hours – for others a process that could be done over months. The idea is to not hold onto so many items that really just flood the household.

Day 11. Clearing out paperwork. It is now time to go through all the bills, receipts, papers, everything building up and toss it out or shred and recycle it. Spend at most 2 hours collecting the items and deciding what to do with it. Any other papers floating around can be solved another day. You don’t need all those papers sitting there distracting you and building in the house. If you do need a certain paper, it needs to be in a folder in a designated place. You may have some papers that are also digital copies. You can use those instead of have multiple medical files, tax files, etc. Do keep papers that you need to make an action with and one folder for items that need to be filed.

Day 12. Clean out linen closet. If you have a linen closet overflowing, it may be time to get rid of some of the older linens you never use. Often homeless shelters or animal shelters will use linens that are still in good condition. Toss any items that are really dingy and in bad condition into recycling. It’s a good idea to pull everything out and wash down the shelves, look for cobwebs, and actually go through each linen to see what you really have in stock and if you have too much surplus. Maybe all your children have grown up and could use some of those linens or maybe you just had a breakup and getting rid of some shared items that remind you of your ex would be a happy reprieve.

Day 13. Throw out old makeup. Toss anything that has been expired, anything cracked, or anything that you’re not even sure what it is. Try to condense down to your essentials with makeups. Also, go ahead and give all the brushes you use a wash. Maybe some of the brushes need to be tossed. To clean the brushes:

Wet the bristles with lukewarm water.

Massage gentle soap such as Dawn or baking soda into the bristles.

Rinse the bristles and clear out the soap.

Squeeze out the excess moisture with a clean towel.

Reshape brush heads.

Let dry on a towel.

Day 14. Sort jewelry. Look through your jewelry and see if you have broken, tarnished, or missing pieces. Some of these could be donated, some of them may be in bad enough condition that you should throw them into recycling. Consider buying a jewelry box if you haven’t got one already — or add it to the Christmas list. If you have an expensive piece of jewelry – like a diamond – don’t just recycle it. If it has problems, schedule time for a repair or for professional maintenance. If you have way too much jewelry, consider giving some to family members who might like it. This could also make for an easy Christmas gift.

Day 15. Setup healthcare appointments. This is a day for you to declutter your life by cutting down on the appointments you haven’t setup. The nice part about fall cleaning is that you may realize you haven’t seen certain doctors this year. Now is a good time to setup those dentist, eye doctor, and other appointments. Maybe you haven’t taken the dog or cat to see the veterinarian; now is the time to get those weird things they do checked out. Decluttering is about making healthier living space for you, and working on your individual health is one way to free up your time and space.

Day 16. Clean out sock and underwear drawer. If you haven’t already, it’s time to throw out all the old socks and underwear you don’t use anymore. If it has a hole in it, don’t bother with it anymore. These are easily replaceable items, so don’t hold onto things that are old and ratty. Some clothing items are good after only so many uses.

Day 17. Clean out laundry room. If you have old products, it’s time to dispose of them. Look around for cobwebs and other dust that needs to be removed. See if you have accidentally been hiding clothes that need to go to a closet instead. Consider adding a shelf if things are too messy or scattered. Make sure the laundry room is about the laundry room and not something else. It should be easy to cut back on the clutter in this room.

Day 18. Give things a home. Go around the house and find 5-15 things that don’t have a place, and find them a place. Put it on a shelf, put it with like items, but don’t just stuff it back into your closet. That’s cheating, and it doesn’t work.

Day 19.  Scrub those floors down. When is the last time your floors have had a good scrubbing? It’s time to mop, sweep, vacuum, and maybe hire professionals to clean up the carpets. There are some nasty critters that can multiply in carpets, and dirty tracks around the house can make you sick. Doing a good floor cleaning can be good exercise. Mop the floors down and really give it extra elbow grease. Your goal is to make the floor as spotless as possible, which can be challenging with kids and animals. Move furniture so you can clean areas that haven’t been cleaned in ages. Take really good note of your floors for the first time. Is there something in the way of them being clean? Also, scrub down all the baseboards – get rid of that dirt and dust.

Day 20. Clean out your office. Start with all the papers that have piled up. Put them in stacks: “to file,” “to do,” and “to toss.” File your records in a way that makes sense to you. Records older than seven years can likely be tossed out (that’s the length of time lawyers are legally required to keep their own records.) Clean off the desk; look for knick-knacks you don’t need. Limit how many knick-knacks you have on your desk: maybe 5. Throw away things you haven’t used in a year. Empty out all the drawers and go through the items one by one. Get rid of old planners, expired coupons, etc. Take stock of your supplies, and purchase drawer organizers that will accommodate your belongings.

Day 21. Clean out toys. Your kids or pets might not like this, but if there are a lot of toys, especially old and tattered – it might be time to get rid of some, donate them, and upgrade to other toys. Sometimes the kids will help you if they know the toys are going to a good cause. Helping them to let go of toys will help them better handle decluttering when they are older. Too many toys can be a way for bacteria to spread. If your pets are not using certain toys, or if they have several that are chewed up – just toss them out. Your pets won’t mind not seeing them or getting new toys to challenge their minds. It’s good to cycle pet toys so they don’t get tired of them, so you can put some away for a couple of months in storage and cycle through them every so often.

Day 22. Scrub down the kitchen. Sprinkle salt into the kitchen sink and scrub with a cut lemon. If you have old, gross brushes, those can be tossed. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 2 cups water and wash down all the counters and places where your family eats. Baking soda can be used to clean just about anything. You should scrub these counters daily, but try giving them more of your elbows this time. Also, scrub down handles, look for any mysterious marks, and scrub down appliances that haven’t been cleaned in a while – the coffee pot is a likely culprit.

Day 23. Clean your digital devices. Backup important files on a hard drive or flash drives. Go through your computer and see if you can get more space. Your computer will run better this way. Try to reduce the number of marks on your desktop. Remove apps you don’t use and are taking up space. Delete items you no longer need. Maybe you have some old computer game boxes from the early 2000s that no longer serve you. Clean up and sort the files on your computer. You can also spend the day cleaning up your social media presence. Check to see if your privacy settings are set at their best level, see if there are pictures you would want in a physical copy, and see what you can minimize on your profile. Maybe it’s time to update your LinkedIn or your relationship status. If you’ve broken up with someone in the recent past, maybe it’s time to delete some pictures off Instagram. Also, check to see if you’re behind on any emails, texts, private messages and the like. If you have several social media accounts, delete one of them.

Day 24. Declutter the backyard. Maybe you have a shed, maybe you have a crazy dog who finds things, or maybe your children like to take all their toys out for a sunny stroll. One way or another, the backyard shouldn’t be cluttered. When mowing the yard for the last time before winter, make sure to take stock of what’s making your yard messy and how you can manage that now.

Day 25. Craft supplies. For those of you who are artists, this may be a nightmare. Look through your crafts collection and see if you have any old paints, excessive amounts of certain supplies, or other things that honestly could be donated to a church or school. Try to get your items down to what is relevant and remove what you won’t miss or what causes unnecessary pain. Clean your paintbrushes; throw out ones that are not going to get better. Invest in new shelving devices if necessary.

Day 26. Second trash bag day. Go around the house again and throw away items that can be tossed out into at least 2 bags. These can be items sent to recycling. Keep going around the house until you fill up those 2 bags or boxes. If you fail at doing this, go through your closets again to find items you can donate or toss out entirely.

Day 27. The “hot spot” cleanup. Dealers choice here, but if you started this declutter assignment by writing down your household “hot spots” for clutter, now is the time to target two or more of those areas (if any still exist). Clean and break these spots down like a champ, and come up with a method for it to never be infiltrated again. It’s your job to liberate the space.

Day 28. Donation day. If you haven’t already, it’s time to take your donation items to places that will accept them, whether Goodwill, religious drives, or schools. You may have to make a few phone calls to plan this out. Label objects that you know will be going to a specific person.

Day 29. Clean out wallet, backpack, and purse. This should be an easy day. Go through your belongings where you carry your money and other daily essentials and cut it down to just that. You don’t need to be carrying around gum wrappers, receipts, and the like. If your wallet or purse are in bad shape – it’s time to go replace it. This can also be a nice item for the holiday shopping list.

Day 30. The final sprint, 5,000 steps of cleaning. To make really sure that your house is clean, go around the house sprucing things up till you’ve hit 5,000 steps on the odometer. Most smartphones have an odometer under the health section. 5,000 steps is about 50 minutes of regular non-stop walking. With cleaning interrupting your walking, this can add a lot of time. This final day might take you awhile. If you’re really ambitious and really want to be a clean guru – up the steps and shoot for a full day of cleaning with 10,000 steps of chores. Reward yourself with some ice cream when you reach your goal.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/03/30-day-plan-to-remove-clutter-from-house-this-fall/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/11/03/30-day-plan-to-remove-clutter-from-house-this-fall/