Fashion Plate

When I was in middle school, I had this toy that was called "Fashion Plates" - which is quite literally what it was. There were plastic tiles with raised outlines of tops, bottoms, and shoes; you arranged them into a look and then used a crayon to make a rubbing of the outfit and then color it in. (Wow, the internet has everything! Check it out here.) I still remember when I learned that the name of this toy was a play on words on the more standard meaning of the phrase "fashion plate" - it's one of the several strong memories I have of the sensation of language revealing itself to me. Words are fun... um, where was I? Oh yeah, Lara is really cute in her little clothes. I feel like I'm now getting to live out that game in real life, although that window is quickly closing as she is starting to dress herself. Much of this outfit, for instance was put together by the tiny fashionista:





This is a new joke called "I'm asleep, you have to be very quiet." The correct response is, "Oh, no, Lara fell asleep... I better not tickle her!"



In this picture, she is "asleep" in the restaurant we went to yesterday. She has become hilariously self-assured and totally comfortable with the waitstaff in restaurants, as if we are constantly eating out. Yesterday, as soon as the waitress came to the table Lara piped up: "Can I have a menu please, Mister Waitress? Can I please have a glass of water and a booster?" She then picked a hamburger from the kids' menu and ordered it herself. The waitress brought her water and some table bread, at which point Lara looked confusedly at the bread, then with a sort of pitying dismissal turned to the waitress, "Can I have a hamburger please?" As in, "what is this? did you fail to hear my order?" We were cracking up.

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I just got an amazing email from Debbie, who used my Doll Furniture Instructions (free on the right sidebar) to create a set of amazing pieces for Barbie. So totally fabulous!

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This may be extremely declasse of me, but whatever. I am starting to prepare the apartment for the future new family member, and this basically means clearing closet space and reusing/repurposing as much as possible. Yesterday I picked up a used stroller from a Craig's List post - super awesome. Today, I just listed a whole bunch of clothes from my office work life on eBay (mostly Banana). If you're looking for a blazer or pants or something, my page of listings is here.