Add it up

my 10 favorite things

A/N: Different from my usual work, but this is my page and my rules. This is to celebrate hitting 700 subscribers, I guess.

1. Music: I love music. It surrounds my life; I am usually listening to music. Whether it’s on my phone, computer, record player, or CD player. I am usually playing something. I mean, most of my articles are named after songs. Including this one; it's named after a Violent Femmes song, which is what I am listening to right now as I write it. I listen to nearly every genre, except new country; I can’t stand it. I do like old country, though; I love Loretta Lynn. I am basic, and my favorite musician of all time is Lana Del Rey. Not to brag, well acutally yes, I am bragging- I own two of her unreleased albums on CD. Music has shaped my life. From listening to my mom strum on her bass to singing in the car with my friends, it has impacted me in ways I couldn’t imagine. I recently saw Jack White in concert, and it was absolutely amazing. I am currently really into indie rock at the moment.

2. Fashion: I love clothes, accessories, shoes, everything that makes up an outfit. I don’t really have one defined style; I dress all over the place. But I have a soft spot for 60s fashion and early 2010s styles. When the weather permits, I love button-ups and turtlenecks. In my favorite photo of myself, I am wearing one of my favorite outfits. It’s a brown leather coat, white turtleneck, brown check vest, and brown jeans. If I ever post myself on here, that’ll be the photo I share. I thrift nearly all my clothes, and I get the rest off of eBay or Depop. I make most of my own jewelry or thrift it. I have thrifted some pretty awesome jewelry. My favorite piece of jewelry I have thrifted is this vintage cameo necklace. I can’t find an exact match online, but from my research, it’s old. I cannot wait for fall to wear my favorite outfits.

3. Fragances. I have a huge collection. My prized possession is my Dolce and Gabbana one; I wish I could let you smell it. Also my Twilight one; it's old, I got it when I was like five and super into Twilight. Saving it for my wedding or special occasions. I love smelling good; I own niche fragrances I got off of Etsy, to ones from Bath & Body Works. My first expensive fragrance is a Dior one; I got it as a gift. I spend a good chunk of my money on things to make me smell good.

4. Cameos. Oh my fucking god, I love cameos. I mean, look at them; how can you not like them? The elegance, the carving, the everything about them just speaks to me. I own a few, but they aren’t really a thing anymore. But if I see one at the thrift store, I am snatching it up. I am putting a picture for reference because I am not sure if everyone knows what they are. I mean, they aren’t niche by any means, but they haven’t been in style for a while. They might be; not sure. I don’t really keep up with current fashion trends. Which I know is stupid; I love fashion, but I don’t keep up with the trends. Anyway, they are absolutely beautifil and I think everyone should own some.

5. Rosaries. I am not catholic; I mean my grandparents are, so maybe I am catholic by proxy? I think it’s the catholic blood that runs through my veins that makes me love them so much. I collect them; whenever I see one from the thrift store, it’s coming home with me. It meant so much to someone, and to see it at a thrift store is an insult. That person is most likely dead, and the thing they prayed on is now nothing more than something to be sold. I like to think that when I buy them, I am honoring the dead. I own old ones, ones made out of cocoa beans, and ones made out of crystal. I own a lot. I got one from the thrift store that came in this little pouch; it said something about a lady named Nina on it. Which I am assuming is the owner’s name. Rest assured, Nina, now your rosary lives with me. Her rosary is red and gold; it's beautiful.

6. Hannibal, I love Hannibal. Good lord, I love Hannibal. My favorite character from the series is Hannibal Lecter; I see myself in some of him. I mean, I am not a cannibalistic murderer. But the desire to be seen, to be recognized for what you are, it speaks to me. I love the TV show so much; I have rewatched it countless times. It brings me comfort, brings me tranquility, brings me joy. I own most of the Hannibal pop figures, and I also make my own merch. I have these crosses that have a place that you can put a picture in, so of course I put Hannibal and Will Graham.

7. Taxidermy: I own a few pieces. Favorite is a cat paw I have, and a rabbit skull. I also own plush taxidermy. The plush taxidermy is a bear, moose, and deer head. Think its meant for a nursery, whatever; it ended up in my room. I begged my dad to buy it for me for Christmas; he said it was stupid. So, I bought it myself. I want to own more taxidermy, but it’s a lot of money, espically if you want to get it from a reliable source. So, whenever I see bones, I bring them home with me. I have fish teeth, a frog skeleton, and some other random bones. I also own a dead monarch butterfly I found off the sidewalk. Back when I was about six, I watched a man dissect a deer. He gave me the rest of the deer after he stripped off the meat to put in lye so I could have the bones. My mom let it sit in the lye too long, so I didn’t get a full skeleton of a deer. What a shame, would’ve been a cool thing.

8. Horror, I love it. My favorite is gothic horror, to be exact, but I love any genre pretty much. Except splatter punk; most splatter punk is poorly disguised fetish content. I might give it a chance one day, but a lot of it just seems like a weird guy’s deepest desires. I grew up on horror; my mom would read me the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and Grimm fairytales as bedtime stories. I’ve always gravitated towards that stuff, even when I was small. I loved Stephen King; I mean, I still do, but I was crazy for him when I was 11-13. My favorite book of his is The Shining. For Halloween, I am going as Patrick Bateman. I remember reading the book off of this sketchy website, because my mom said I was too ‘young’ to read it. When there’s a will, there's a way.

9. Vintage stuff, whether it’s toys, clothes, or just random items. I love old things; my room is littered with random things I got from the antique store. My oldest item is from 1909. It’s a book; I keep it on my armoire. I’ve read it a few times, not a lot, though. I want to be gentle with it, and knowing me, I am not the most gentle with things.

10. Writing, I love writing. Most things bore me; I am bored most of the time, most things aren’t stimulating enough for my brain. So, I write. I write stories, I write articles, I write stupid things like this. I’ve been writing since I was about nine; that's a decade of writing. A decade of writing down random things that come to mind. I love to create my own world, with my own characters, my own setting, with my own imagination. I am constantly inspired by the world around me, from small little things to life-changing events; it all inspires my work. I think I want to be a published writer one day, who knows.