bread and butterflies

When I was in high school, I had a lot of crushes. On musicians, actors, imaginary friends, and occasionally on real-life boys. I remember a particular party that I attended, at which I slow danced with one of these real-life boys. First of all, I know. Who slow dances at a house party? It was weird. But wait, it gets weirder. We were dancing to the classic Mariah Carey ballad “Butterfly.” Half a verse in, my crushworthy partner began humming along. As soon as the chorus kicked in, he was softly singing the lyrics into my ear (oh yeah, he knew all the words perfectly). By the end of the song, he was practically flapping his arms in the air as if they were wings and belting out the lyrics. The whole experience was confusing, off-putting, and a little traumatic. Looking back, I think he may have been on something. I don’t know where you are now crushboy, but I have a pretty good guess: musical theater.

Point being, despite this incredibly negative experience, I still really have a thing for butterflies. Not, like, lower back tattoo butterflies, but actual specimens. So I’m appropriately coveting these necklaces from Bona Drag.

When I was recently at the St. Louis Zoo, I spent a ridiculous amount of time taking photos in the butterfly sanctuary. This post gives me an excuse to share a few.