Unsolicited Advice

As some of you may know, there are big changes coming to Simon and Ivan. I'm planning to move across the country this summer, and in light of this decision, I've been getting rid of stuff. It's amazing how much junk you can acquire in five years... and how much cat hair can collect on the couch... but if you receive a package from me with say, a Christmas card addressed to someone else instead of a proper Hallmark Greeting, it's not because I don't love you, it's because I'm trying to slim down on the amount of crap that I have to put in dear Friday the Honda Civic's trunk... and every unsent holiday card counts!

Putting things to good use is something I should be doing, but far too often I find myself hoarding "the pretty". Simon sent me the most beautiful package of treasures for my birthday and I didn't want to use any of it. I had several lovely flower shaped tea lights, an adorable saucer and a bar of soap on display in my bathroom because looking at them made me happy... but yesterday I ran out of hand soap and decided it was time to use the Simon soap. It weighs more than a greeting card, so it's officially excess. I unwrapped the shiny green ribbon and set it aside and tore through the thick green paper and smelled the soap-- and then I saw the inside of the ribbon


Thank you, Soap! I needed that reminder! I usually get my advice from the inside of beer bottle caps, but this smells different! So I'm going to keep this in my medicine cabinet right next to my other piece of unsolicited advice (courtesy of a magic hat #9).