u/Pastel_Spell

Current POV.

My cats honestly might love my Kindle floor stand even more than I do. As soon as I start settling in with it, they're all trying to lay on my chest and squeeze under the Kindle. These two don't even get along normally! 😂 Hippo (my little old lady on the left) especially loves to ponder and nose the Forbidden Orb (my discoball dustplug charm) while she's here. The void is Stormy.

(Idk why the screen photographed so yellow, it's a normal color irl I swear.)

Had a very fruitful little excursion to B&N and HPB (ours are located practically right next door to each other, which I love and my bank account hates)! I've already read Vow of Eternal Night on my Kindle (and loved it) but I did find a few others that have been kicking around my TBR too! Which should I read next? Thoughts on any of these?

Also non-romantasy bonus of these stunninggggggg illustrated editions of LOTR + The Hobbit that I am obsessed with. 👀

Image description: books displayed on shelves with front covers facing outwards. Books are Graceless Heart, This Immortal Heart, The Swan's Daughter, Swordheart, Vow of Eternal Night, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit.

Today I third-wheeled on my husband + our friend's boydate at the hobby store and this lil guy was $5 at the checkout and I couldn't resist bringing him home. He's so smol and perfect (and surprisingly soft!). 🥹

They made a special trip out to a store that's really good but a bit of a drive from where we live (and I got to look at a nearby Jellycat stockist after, but didn't bring any Jellies home)...so this is my "Warhammer." 😂 Think I'm gonna name him Lionel, but open to other Warhammer name suggestions!

This widdle grompy guy is my new Roman Empire. I need him so bad. Look at his dumb little lizard FACE??? He is so smol?? So baby??

My husband is over here like we just got you a gargoyle plushie (the BAB one, who is my precious baby boi/sleep buddy) and like yes, we did...now we get him a SON. Duh.

You might remember my post from a few weeks ago about getting/loving my new Kindle...well, all the stickers and accessories I ordered are finally here, so as promised, here she is...and I fear I COOKED y'all. 🤌 Absolutely obsessed with her!

I was a little stressed at a few points trying to get everything aligned nicely (especially since I actually stuck things down to reduce thickness using so many stickers) and then I discovered my insert was like a millimeter too tall...but gave it a quick trim and I think it turned out super cute!

I'm a lover of epic/high fantasy, romantasy, historical romance/fantasy, femme heroines, emotional stories, magic, and whimsy. Tamora Pierce is a big reason that I ever even became a reader as a kid and definitely still influences my tastes today. My Kindle feels so much like me now and I love it! 🥰

Anyone else notice these water columns in today's deep dive aquarium build?! There's definitely movement in them, although it's hard to make out exactly what that movement is. Probably just bubbles. But I wonder if these are purely decorative or if they can be used to house aquatics at all, i.e. jellyfish or very small species? Or if they can be used to connect separate tanks together? My local aquarium has something like that for our octopus.

Just got this email to do a short survey for Jellycat. First couple questions are about the general website experience, second half is about the Purrks program specifically. It's pretty short. I know a lot of us have issues/complaints/ideas about these things so check your emails (and spam folders) so you can directly give feedback to Jellycat!

Personally, my big suggestions were letting us upload proof of purchase from official stockists for Purrks points, and birthday discount coupons.

(Post title/bear name are a reference to The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig, which has a silly/sweet gargoyle character named Bartholomew!)

After what seemed like endless setbacks (from both BAB and life) preventing me from getting my first BAB for my birthday on the 3rd...as of today, Beartholomew has finally been stuffed! I'm so in love with his sweet lil face. I put the mahogany scent in him and it's so nice! He's perfect. 😭 I had considered replacing his nose (even ordered safety noses) but decided to love him as he is.

Bag charms were 2 for $30 today and I had a bday coupon, so I picked up two other lil friends too. I've been wanting a plushie bag charm for a bit for fidgetability and because my current one is jingly metal that drives me nuts, so it was perfect timing! I got the frog and the bunny. The frog was one of the actual plushies I considered, so it's nice to still have him in this form!

My store associates were so sweet and we have the classic BAB store still, so it was nice to do the whole experience with my partner. I have a lot of birthday trauma so the goal was to have something associated with positive/gentle memories for the day, and I think we did it! 💕

Our teased animal for this week was in fact a cichlid!

What I'm intrigued by is the fact that between the art and the photo image, they show three different color morphs. They also reference them having many color morphs in the overview and conservation status sections! I wonder how many color morphs we'll actually get? And if it will work similarly to albino, etc. animals for breeding and such?

I've been considering adding an orchid to my collection for a little while and have been lurking here for a week or two/doing some basic research...stopped at the grocery store today (after going to my favorite local nursery for a different plant and being disappointed by their currently very picked over orchid selection) and saw this lil guy and he seemed pretty healthy so I decided to start with a smaller, less expensive one so I wouldn't be as sad/guilty if I murdered it. 😅 However, now that I actually have it home, I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed.

• What kind is this?
• The pot/substrate seems inappropriate to me and not airy enough - should I repot it? Do I need to wait an amount of time before doing that so I don't stress it? Is pot size a factor?
• The roots at the top look silvery, but the bottom is very green. When should I water?
• I have a north-facing windowsill that I keep most of my plants in, that will be having 40w growlights added in the next couple days (about 2-3 feet up, so they'll be pretty mild). (For reference, it's mostly calatheas and similar in there, which are currently doing pretty well but my lipstick plant is not getting quite enough light I think. My VFT definitely isn't.) Will this be too much direct light for an orchid? I can also place it on my desk in that room so it isn't directly in the window/under the lights...but I was hoping it could go in the window so it would be easier to encourage it to bloom with temperature drops.
• Humidity and temperature is standard house levels.
• I only use distilled water for my plants.
• Anything else I should know?

Thanks! 💖🌺

Grizzo has been my dream since I first saw him and I was so lucky to get a good deal on him through the BST reddit. Also found a decent deal on Fun Guy Robbie who was very high on my wishlist (and a couple others on my wishlist that are still en route) from ebay. Neither have their hang tags but I always cut mine off (and store them in a box) anyways, so I wasn't too fussed about it. I'm never giving these two up anyways. I'm so so so happy to finally have them in my collection. They're so cute!!! They look so happy in my whimsical forestcore office, and I'm sure Rockleton, Mulshi, and my Malachy Dragon will all be very best friends with them.

I am Grizzo's third known owner, and he's honestly in pretty decent shape but he is a bit loved. If anyone has any tips on just freshening him up a little bit, I'd appreciate it! Idk if we need to do a whole bath and everything but I do think I'm gonna try to brush him at least. His fur feels ever so slightly oily to me (just normal amounts from being touched, nothing crazy), I just wanna clean him up a bit.

I purchased this lipstick plant about a month ago from a reputable local greenhouse. All the leaves were a relatively uniform dark green color. Since then, a number of leaves have started turning purple on the edges and/or gaining lighter yellow green splotches. Newer leaves are lighter in color. I've even had a few seemingly healthy leaves drop for no reason (5ish maybe, not an excessive amount). The first photo is today, the other two are from the night I brought it home.

It is in a north-facing windowsill. It only receives distilled water and I don't *think* I'm under or overwatering. I'm not currently dealing with any pests, root rot, or other health concerns as far as I know. It hasn't been given any fertilizer since I bought it. Temperature and humidity are standard indoor levels.

I'd really love to get this little lady healthy and flowering eventually. I'm gonna be putting a mild grow light in the window soon, so if it's lack of light, that will be improved upon...but if it's too much light, I can move it to a hanging pot out of the windowsill. Too much light is my instinct but like...it's a north-facing window and we've had a lot of rainy/cloudy days lately? I'm honestly stumped.

Note: the physical damage present on a few of the leaves (scarring, ragged edges) was there when I bought it and has not worsened.

I've been a voracious reader my whole life, but the older I got (now 34) the less I read. I started trying to read more again this year and so far I've read 24 (physical) books! But even then, I'd find myself putting off reading the next one, even when I wanted to do it. I've noticed that as much as I love reading big books, I hate holding big books. I'm chronically ill and spend a lot of time in bed. Supporting the thicker books constantly, being stuck in the ways that were comfortable to read but not being able to lay exactly how my body wanted, etc. was getting really taxing. To the point were I've had my next physical book in a series on my nightstand for a month and haven't touched it.

With prime week, my husband's employee discount, and some prime visa cashback, I was able to get a signature edition paperwhite for $100, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Downloaded Onyx Storm as one of the first things I found on Kindle Unlimited...and it's been an absolute lifechanger. I can lay however I want, it's not heavy to hold up or have on my arm, I fall asleep easier/earlier at night because I can have the bedside lights off/use darkmode (which my husband also appreciates) or satisfy my doomscrolling tendencies with reading instead. I don't feel like reading has to be such a dedicated chunk of time for some reason either - I can pick it up, read a chapter or two, and put it down. I have weekly plans that I often bring a book to, and I no longer worry about damaging my book or having to carry something extra - my purse has a pocket that was specifically designed to fit/protect Kindles that I can actually use as intended now!

I've had it for just under a week now and it's safe to say I'm absolutely in love and I'm keeping it. I've already spent more on Kindle accessories and stickers than I did on the actual device (I even mocked up all the stickers+insert in Canva to make sure they'd fit/look nice together). As someone who loves collecting physical books and has always been adamant they were my preferred format, I never expected to love the Kindle the way I do. I still plan to support actual bookstores and buy copies of my favorite books to display on our shelves (and of course read if I want), but as far as my daily reading goes...this is the winner! I can't wait for all the things I ordered to get here so I can dress her up and make her mine. 💕

UPDATE: At everyone's recommendation, I also ordered a page turner and floor stand!

Everyone knows about the dragons and bunnies and Bartholomews and Rockleton. And we love those Jellies! But what Jellies do you love that don't get mentioned very often (or even actively hated on)?

I've seen a few comments now about avoiding/not liking the Fancy Carp, but I adore him! As soon as I saw him, I knew I needed him. I love goldfish and koi irl, and his soft peachy colors and dumb chubby lil face were perfect to me. I feel like stockists always have a bunch of him and I don't know why more people don't love him. (Honestly, I'd really love for Jellycat to make a fancy goldfish and more freshwater fish in general.)

Jerboa is another one I really like that I don't see posted about often. But he's just a lil guy! I've heard he doesn't sell well in stores but I went on a city-wide hunt for these guys last weekend, and he was the only one I found. His nose was a lil wonky, but I trimmed the fur around it and you can hardly even tell now. I love his tail and his lil feets and his big ol ears.

Who's your favorite underappreciated Jelly?

I managed to snag a Malachy with the recent website restock and I'm obsessed. I've never bought off the website before as I try to buy locally usually but decided to make an exception for her with how difficult the dragons are to get, and I'm so glad I did! She is soooo soft and her shape is SO cuddleable. This is my first dragon!

She did come needing considerable trimming around her eyes/nose and there was a LOT of fur sewn into seams that needed loosening, as well as some glue (?) in a few spots. (Honestly kinda shocked/apalled at the quality control on her.) But we had a lengthy lil hair appointment and now she is ABSOLUTELY BOOTIFUL. 💖

Taking name suggestions if anyone has any. Right now I'm thinking Matcha, Skysong, or Calathea! 🤔