A glimpse of my Likes List

In my notes app I have a pinned note titled "Faye's Likes List."

I think it's important to know what you like. I was raised by a single mother who devoted so much of herself to her children that, somewhere along the way, she lost touch with who she was when she wasn't being a mother. By the time I was old enough to recognize this and started asking her about her simplest preferences, (her favorite books, colors, songs, flowers, things like that) she often couldn't really tell me. It made me so upset that I didn't even know my mother's favorite flower that, from then on, I began insisting that my mother, my friends, and pretty much anyone around me make their own likes lists.

I don't think there's anything wrong with not having an answer, but I wanted people I loved to know themselves a little bit better. We should know what we like. Not just the big things that define our lives, but the tiny, almost meaningless things -- the color you always reach for, the song that makes you happy for no particular reason, the flower you always choose, and the candy you'd pick out of a bowl.

Funnily enough, making lists is on my likes list. The little one I'm sharing here is only a tiny fraction of the things I've collected over the years, but I thought it would be fun to post a few of them and share a bit about me, so...

Hello, I'm Faye and I like:

red lollipops

I always have a few red lollipops laying around the house or in my bag. Cherry or strawberry flavored. I think it gives off the perfect red lip stain when I can't be bothered to grab my makeup bag.

canterbury bell flowers

My favorite flowers. I love anything and everything fairy-like and these bell-shaped flowers remind me of something out of a fairytale. In the 16th and 17th centuries, these flowers were often known as “Coventry Bells” or “Venus’ Looking Glass,” before the name “Canterbury Bells” became established in the 1800s. As pilgrims traveled toward the cathedral, they would hear the bronze church bells ringing across the countryside, and the flowers’ distinctive bell-like shape was thought to resemble them. Because of this association, as well as their presence in old monastery gardens, Canterbury Bells came to symbolize prayer, spiritual devotion, pilgrimage, gratitude, faith, and constancy. Also, these flowers are cat-safe so I can have them in the house without worrying that the boys will die from them like lilies.

fountain pens

I started becoming obsessed with fountain pens around the same time I started journaling—about a year ago. The sad part is I only have one pen and one ink so far. Tragic, I know. This obsession also started around when I began court reporting school, so I had to be a responsible adult and focus on buying the necessary school supplies instead of succumbing to retail therapy. Once I become a court reporter I'm going to buy a nice fountain pen as a gift for myself. The end-goal is to one day have a Montblanc pen gifted to me. Let's hope I marry rich, right?

Ao3

I love reading. A little too much sometimes, and if you”re wondering if that’s even possible — it is. When life gets hard I tend to grab a book and ignore the world to the point where It becomes concerning. Physical books will always be  the gold-standard, but when I discovered Wattpad in middle school, all bets were off. I could not be found for days. I was there in the early days of Wattpad, back when I proudly told myself, I will never read one of those weird fanfiction books. Eventually, I realized something I was very reluctant to admit: some of those writers were actually really, really good.  And then I discovered AO3, and suddenly I realized I had been playing in the kiddie pool. The best writing I’ve found on Wattpad doesn’t even compare to some of the things I’ve read on AO3. Those writers are just built differently. 

warm lighting

I will actually hiss if you ever turn on the big light in my house. We only do warm light bulbs in aesthetically-pleasing lamps around here. If I could only live by candlelight, I would.

Le Petit 3 Newspaper

As much as love my screentime and scrolling through TT, I need some entertainment offline. This newspaper isn't just any old newspaper, either. It's made in Paris and filled with the most stunning photos and interesting articles in it. I love it so much. Whenever I find it in my mailbox, I rush to get my beach chair so I can read it by the ocean while sipping my black coffee. Also, it's $11. Not bad.

diet coke and black coffee

speaking of coffee, I usually start my day with a cup of black coffee. In the evening I tend to reach for a diet coke. I don't enjoy drinking my calories. I'd rather let the aspartame kill me.

Mr. Darcy Fog

Now, wait. Let me explain this one. This didn’t become a thing until I started traveling in an RV a few years ago, before I settled into the beach house. I spent a lot of time driving through the mountains, and I remember one particularly cold morning when I was curled up in the passenger seat, my head leaned against the window, watching the scenery pass by.

I don’t remember what state we were in, but there were rolling hills for miles, all covered in dense fog. I remember looking out the window and thinking, That’s the kind of fog Mr. Darcy would saunter out of. Now, whenever I see thick fog rolling dramatically over a landscape, especially hills, I give it the “That’s Mr. Darcy Fog” stamp of approval. Not all fog qualifies. It has to have a certain amount of brooding English gentleman energy.

cold pizza

My favorite thing is waking up and looking for something to eat and then suddenly remembering I have a slice of leftover pizza in the fridge.

my two orange boys

Meet Murphy and Skeeter. They are the loves of my life. Like all orange cats, they are completely chaotic. Murphy is the oldest, and he’s also the cuddliest. I got him during my RV adventure while I was in North Carolina. He was already a year old when I found him, and he was easily the calmest cat I’d ever had. Eventually, after we settled into our current home, I started noticing that Murphy seemed a little lonely. So, I got him a kitten.

Enter Skeeter: the troublemaker. I deliberately picked the kitten who looked the most playful because I thought he would bring out Murphy’s inner orange-cat-ness. I was right. Now I have two cats running around my house at night, breaking shit and launching themselves off furniture because apparently nightly zoomies are a scheduled household activity.