Friday, November 18, 2016

fabulous friday . fall (?)

It's that time of year I'm binge-listening to Andrew Mcmahon in the Wilderness and putting together a calendar for each set of grandparents. This season makes me appreciate so many things. Mostly due to the fact that I'm looking over all these at least semi-forgotten memories. and it brings back so many good ones. and it's encouraging like nothing else.

In other news, fall, despite it's crazy-not-fall-weather and not-fall-colors ((*angry emoji*)) as been absolutely the bomb-diggity for good food around here. *cue granola pic*

Along with the annual apple foods, I've made more batches of granola than I could ever count, sweet potatoes and choritzo, lots of sausage and fall veggies, pumkin bread, and (praise hands) today I successfully made the best gosh-darn potato fries in the oven. (the secret is to soak them ten minutes before you bake them. also spray the foil. pure. bliss.)

I think in between moments I forget how many there were and how good they were. Looking over pictures from the year is like a mental check of, oh, yeah, I actually did a lot of wonderful things this year. and, oh, yeah, I actually have so, so much to be thankful for. and how could I forget...??

So, I cannot encourage you enough to look over your old pictures from the season. Scan your blog posts from the year. It's amazing how much we forget. It's amazing how much we've forgotten.

(I just heard the car pull into the driveway. my sisters are home early from school. I don't know what it is about a mess-up in routine that makes me so happy. but it does.)

*coughcough* well that was written last friday and now it's friday again and this still hasn't seen the light of the internet.

I will tell you, though, that tonight I finished editing the pictures we took while apple picking, get this: over fall break. over a month ago.

Ah, well, life.

Buuut, mmm, a sting album came out so now I think I have listened to it three times back-to-back-to-back. What can I say? it's a good album. (thank you for alerting me to the fact of it's existence, deryn)

So guys I realized the light is actually like so dang beautiful through my 18-55 mm lens and even though the lens is crummy and I a little bit like totally digging it. hmmmmmm?
Beautiful, am I right??My mom brought home four (four!!!!) boxes of trader joe's tea (not sponsored, but totally could be!) so I'm pretty stoked, to say the very least. ha. I'm signing out now.
and guys, what are you doing for thanksgiving? I hope yours is fantastic!

Friday, October 14, 2016

autumn leaves are falling down

the leaves of one tree, just outside my window, started to change color. Which seemed like quite an occasion to me. I worry every year that all the leaves will fall before they change color (or die before they get a chance.) and every year this one tree gives me a little hope and reminds me it's gonna be okay. even if they don't change color.

and that got me wondering about the changes in my life since those leaves turned last year.

There are little pieces of me, little clues, I left here and there - emails, schoolwork, my art journal, playlists, ticket stubs, receipts, and of course, blog posts, right here.

there are quite a few similarities. this time last year... we had gone apple picking, had (at least one) bonfire, school was in full swing (and I was loving it,) we were sad about the red sox losing (not as sad as this year... *pause for loooong moment), and my grandparents were coming to visit.

years have so much in common. (thank goodness.)

Yet there are so many ways we've changed and grown and things we're doing differently. for one, the red sox had made it a whole heck of a ton further... and hopefully we'll see a cy young and an MVP award. but that's another story for another day (that will never get told here... but feel free to check out mlb for details. ;P)

last year...

I had just quit my first job. and I was wondering how I was going to afford my extravagant spending habits. the answer? kill them.

this year...

I just started a new job. and I'm wondering how I can balance it with my workload of school.

last year I was feeling bummed because I now had too much time on my hands and wished I didn't have to quit my job. the answer? my schoolwork could use the time. and so could my editing. and my relationships. and my life.

this year I feel bummed because I worry I've devoting to much energy (and time) to my work and not enough to my family and the people who matter to me.

last year I was thinking I had a great body so who even cares about working out. the answer? drop the arrogance like a bomb.

this year I kicked some butt and started working out. (and I can tell you: I do not have "a great body" but it's seen me this far, so I'd say it's fearfully and wonderfully made! ;))

last year I was feeling hopeful about friendships and excited about possibilities. the answer? don't loose sight of the goal.

this year I feel like my life is very monotonous. I feel lonely and lost. I feel discouraged about life and frustrated with my inability to connect with people.

last year I was sad to see my fifteenth year go. It had been my absolute favorite year. the answer? it was the best. that was all.

this year I'm seeing how fifteen was my best year partly because of my innocence. this year I'm growing so much, but not in those new, fresh, everything is wonderful, life gets better every day ways like I was when I was when I was fifteen.

last year I was growing.

this year I'm maturing.

last year I was looking forward to possibilities.

this year I feel like I need to make a move. (that driving test isn't going to take itself.)

so life is full of new stuff, too. new days and new life...

but...

last year I had a savior who loved me and cared for me. This year, too, I have a wonderful God who I can trust in, who I can serve and love and praise for His blessings and the rich life he's given me.

Monday, August 22, 2016

this week . a reflection

I picked up two extra shifts last week. So I worked every day but tuesday (and sunday) and a double on friday. oh joy.

and then I saw this backpack that I wanted. and it costs three shifts... which means one more extra shift and I could pay for it. buy it. that beauty could be mine.

not that I don't have the money if I didn't work those shifts. Since getting my job a month ago I have bought exactly maybe two things... four, actually. two bagels and two drinks. the same day. oh wait, no. I also bought three donuts a week after I started. and a shakespeare fan head (it's cool but it's creepy but it's cool) and a pair of jeans. I forgot those. those were a good purchase...

and absolutely nothing else comes to mind.

nothing.

(oh wait. I forgot something else: two chocolate bars. what is my life coming to)

so I could actually buy a lot of backpacks because I have no bills. only tax (which I will get back at the end of the year anyway) and I tithe (10%).

So I actually am pretty loaded if you look at percentages. I make 90% (including tax that will come back to me) of all my paychecks.

and spent? mmm, less than 5%. probably. idk, those jeans jacked it up to maybe 7%.

I don't know why I'm taking about this.

I actually wanted to write a reflection post on what putting away my camera for the majority of august has taught me.

It always makes me laugh a little when those super-online people (like people who have a platform on every social medium possible and then some and it's like how do you find time to live and learn to talk about living and learning huh???) are like "here's what I learned from this non-event blah blah blah" but then I realized I actually did learn quite a bit from this time around of camera break. so maybe I should stop laughing.

you might have to read that again for it to make sense. pro tip: you can leave out the stuff in the parenthesis to make it easier to read.

So. I put away my camera. Unintentionally. I didn't have any plans to I just kinda only got it out two or three times. I didn't see anything outstanding that I wanted to take a picture of.
I took one of the car in the garage (okay like five actually. overshooter, much?) all packed and ready to go for my mom + older sister's drive up to Michigan. and then my sister took some of our pancake lunch (same day. mom was gone so why not?) and then I pulled out all of my school books from last year (minus about five that I forgot about) and put them all on my bed to take a picture of them. and then I was reading and playing music and it was lovely outside my mom was grilling so it smelled like summer was ending and it looked and felt and tasted and sounded and all the feels like summer was ending so I wanted to take a picture... okay, the light was just really nice.

and then our rotten computer was all having trouble turning on (thanks computer) and I never did upload pictures to amazon prime like I was supposed to (??) so I was kicking myself. and as I thought about it I started wondering how many had like, people in them. like just those every day things. like, someone standing by our 15 ft tall christmas tree? missed that one. nice apple picking pictures? nope. family picture? in. your. dreams.

but seriously does anyone care about my artsy-fartsy picture of the romantic christmas tree branch? ha. maybe not even me.

I feel this is something that I go round and round in circles with myself on. like I don't know how many times it's gonna take me to realize I don't have enough people in my pictures.

let's be honest here... I've totally said this before... I'm scared of people. I hate taking pictures of people. not only is there the worry of "what will they think?" but also "how do I keep them looking genuine/good" and I never do so then it's all "how can I hide this from them and the rest of the world forever?"

I think, though, the less I've shot, the more open I am to pulling it out. I genuinely miss taking pictures. and it's almost like I have a bucket of confidence (that definitely does not start out full) and every time I pull out my camera I dip into it. and then at some point it refills or something idk my analogy breaks down there... but if I pull it out more intentionally and less just for the sake of holding it in my hands... If I think before I put the view finder to my eye... I get better pictures and I'm more happy. and people are more happy. so I'm more happy. so people are more happy. so the world is happy (well I guess not completely since this election is still coming up.)

So. I'm committing today... when I see an opportunity, take it. but only if it's a good opportunity.

and since I haven't held my camera for like a week my confidence is pretty high. Which is a really good thing because we have a family coming to visit us for this week (arriving some time around soon) and I want to grab lots of memories in this last week of summer before formal education starts.

are you with me?

go.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

fabulous friday . that long and winding road

I don't know what the title has to do with really any of this post but I like the song. and here's a road picture to go along with it. (photo credit: santa cruz mountains for being beautiful.)

and another thing... this was supposed to be posted friday. but I'm never on time with posts. so it was written and ready to go, but just sitting in drafts. fun stuff...

I need to give a quick update, that isn't a total update, more of a putting all the puzzle pieces of bits of news I've shared here together, so you get what I'm going to say.

So. my oldest sister took a three-ish, four-ish week trip to CA. Less than a week later (also, today) she took off with my older sister and mom for a wedding in Michigan (which means this girl's got the kitchen, uh huh!). Then the day after they get back my older sister is taking an east coast trip with a friend of ours for like two weeks or something. I'm not sure of which day it is but within two or three days of getting back (going either way. dates have been switched up a lot) we have company of five for a week or so.

and somewhere in there I'm starting my junior year of school. and working three + afternoons/mornings a week.

I'm excited about it all. I really am. I love things being crazy.

but I haven't had a friday at home this summer yet. and I feel slightly bad about that.

When the school year starts I'm going to tone it down, but it'll still be running. I'm going to work on video editing and scrapbook pages (I hadn't finished march's birthdays yet!) and art journaling and maybe some writing. and I'll still be getting up early but I won't have time for spontaneous naps like I have had all summer... which means earlier bed times.

Which means cutting out the things I enjoy doing at night.

Which means blog posts.

I'll keep posting, but not as frequently. and I will definitely keep up with all the lovely blogs I've been following.

but guys, wherever this place ends up, thank you for following along. I've gotten so many fun comments. so many sweet comments. so many inspiring comments. so many encouraging comments. you guys are seriously the best.

for now... until next time!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

week thirty : mostly shakespeare and a little bit of everything else

I had a busy week. I didn't take pictures on a lot of days. I had a lot of headaches. and a lot of smoothies. I didn't wash my hair as often as I should have and I was cranky.

That week is behind me now. so thank goodness for that.

 day twenty-five : love the harsh contrast and the blue blue sky when the sun has just set.
day twenty-sixth : I'm thankful for little siblings who make badly wrapped presents acceptable (and please note the six-year-old's streamers!). happy birthday, mom. xD
day twenty-seventh: omlet with bacon, goat cheese, and chives (tomatoes are also a good option) with ice tea... in beautiful light. ♥
 day twenty-eight : plugging away at oscar wilde or maybe it's shakespeare? suddenly I can't tell if I'm reading shakespeare or oscar wilde ???
day twenty-nine : romeo and juliet coloring page. I am anything but good at coloring. I have done I think four pages of my Rip Van Winkle coloring book.

and that came with the like 8th grade curriculum. awks for me.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

fabulous friday : what I'm up to

reading // so much Oscar Wilde it's almost obsessive (boarder line fan girl, maybe!) also Patricia Reilly Giff, Joan Bauer, E.L. Konigsburg and A Room With A View (E.M. Forester), just for the heck of it.

watching// Paris When it Sizzles.

I've seen better. I wouldn't suggest it.

listening// Bastille. Jack's Mannequin. Capital Cities. Strange Talk. Coldplay... and waiting for the perfect chance to tune into some of these. because classic.

wearing/shopping// Oh. my. goodness. I found the most beautiful pair of high-waisted jeans. I mean I can't even (mm, there's that fan girl again!)

looking forward to// to be honest, school starting. I miss that flow, kinda.

pinning// is anyone else constantly having trouble with pinterest's new layout? They switched the "like" and "save" and "send" button, so instead of pressing like I keep hitting Send. ughhh no pinterest! But you can check out my groove here... lots of camping photos. the hunger for travel is strong right now.

loving// google calendars. it's like amazing because I can share my work schedule with my mom like with two clicks.

well, I do have to initially fill in each spot, but then the rest takes care of itself, so to speak!

What's your month consisted of?

(also I'm realizing that I've done a What I'm Up To in both June AND May - maybe end of april? - so maybe this is overload... but then again, I've changed since then, right lewis carrol?)

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

week twenty-nine : Intentionally Left Blank

see last week's round-up: Light

Our school curriculum has a schedule with reading/writing/discussion questions, etc for each day. Sometimes the back of a page will be blank and they'll have a little note... "This Page Intentionally Left Blank." I don't know why they always caught my eye, but they did. and I'd read it over and over in my head...

This Page Intentionally Left Blank.

Sometimes I have a huge desire to put that in the subject line of every email I write.

This title, this name, this thought.

Intentionally Left Blank.

 day seventeen : this is sunday morning. (note the red crayon. it's seen eight years of use. the bible. not the crayon.)
 day eighteen : planning out my month and oh my word do events ever end? It's a rare thing for me to have multiple things in one week, but last week I had two or three things a DAY all weekend. phew. (and if you're reading this, deryn, I did read a room with a view.)

day twenty : [this caption intentionally left blank]
day twenty-one : library visit! I got to meet two of my favorite shakespearean actors. It was definitely in like the top twenty five favorite moments of my life so far.
day twenty-two : the second baseman... number 15 ... DUSTIN. PEDROIA.
day twenty-three : I deep cleaned my room (by putting all the junk on my bed.) and vacuumed every carpeted surface. Now I just need to straighten (and get those darn windows!) before my sister gets back from her trip.

day twenty-four : a first for me: shooting a proposal. One of those things that was a total blast, but I'm not sure if I'm up to it again. I'm not sure how that works. If I enjoyed it that much, how come I'm not willing to do it again? This answer intentionally left blank?

but in all seriousness, I think I had a good time because it was a success (mostly thanks to shooting partners + friends, Rach & OJ. you guys rocked, thank you!!) But I worry to much about what if there isn't a good angle? and all-in-all I do better when I have relaxed time to really evaluate the setting/mood/comp I want, etc. Still-life's more my thing. ;) 

But I appreciate these opportunities. ♥
And what did we do with the rest of our night? SHAKESPEARE BABY. That day back at the library? Well, I ran into two of the ACTORS and had a fan girl moment with them (at them?) and they were like Ooooh, you HAVE to go see Two Gents. (read: the twenties version - including song and dance - of William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona!!!!! WHAT IN THE WHAT)

So I crammed it into my already-too-full schedules and it was wonderful.

What's something you intentionally leave blank? 

Friday, July 22, 2016

fabulous friday : a list of ten things that are good in life right now

Today was a long day and I didn't write a blog post.

Some days like I feel like, oh, I'm uninspired. and then another day comes and I'm like, lol I thought then I wasn't inspired? ha. I coulda been on drugs it was so good.

I guess that's the thing about taking things for granted: you don't know what you've got til it's gone.

Like that beautiful light that comes in every summer in all our south-facing windows (my bedroom, the kitchen, the living room) that I am just noticing. like, gosh gracious to goodness. look at the white. just, feast your eyes. (ew isn't that expression gross?)

Some good things about my week?
  • that I DO have a good job, even when there are really hard days
  • cold coffee
  • warm light
  • cozy sweaters + blankets that help with the chills
  • good music (read: bastille. it's the only way to celebrate july 14th here in america)
  • busy schedules
  • meeting people who have meant a lot to you (read: shakespearean actors who are excited that you're excited)
  • baseball games that end so, so well
  • libraries
  • art journaling (more on that later!)
  • oscar wilde words
  • burritos
What's been on your love list lately?

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

week twenty-eight : still working on finding the light

I'm not going to pretend that I've ended that rut from last week. It's not quite as deep now, but it's still there (picture proof below.) But, I do appreciate your kind words last week.

 day ten : I'm sure I take wayyy to many pictures of the moon. But then, I'm attracted to light in photography (as are, um, like all photographers) and when the sun goes down all that's left is the moon.

That sounded wayyyy more sappy than I meant it. (okay, I promise not to say "wayyy" again. at least not for the rest of the post.)
day eleven : first day of work and then home to watch the Home Run Derby. (todd frazier was so close!!)

day twelve : Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness... I'm still not tired of this cd.
 day thirteen : oh, yeah, it's tintin. Have I ever mentioned how much we love them?

I didn't think so.
day fourteen: to be honest, I love my job so much, I'm not even mad about wearing this ugly blue color.

funny story: I was all dressed and ready to go to work, lounging on the couch, and my dad comes over and is all, what does your shirt say? and I was like, lol, idk. I haven't actually read it. When did I turn into a weird, absent-minded kid?!

if you were wondering it says: you can find me at the club.

or something to that effect. I honestly can't even remember. it's comfortable and it's the uniform so I'm not asking questions.
day fifteen : watching the red sox whup the yankees. fun day? I think yes.

What're you plans for this week? my plan right now is to just make a smoothie and try my best to get rid of my headache (I took a nap, and for me headaches and naps go hand-in-hand. probably has something to do with the glare coming in my window.)

Friday, July 15, 2016

fabulous friday // free thoughts

I just finished my second day of work. I don't know what to say... I'm loving it. (oops. that's a slogan!) It's also exhausting in an amazing sort of way. But it's working out well.

So far. 

Am I too much of a downer? Sorry, I'm trying.
Recently, I was riding along in a rental car (long story short: four cars in a week - car rear-ended, van part under warranty into the shop, borrowed car ends it's life, first rental's engine overheats... so we're on our second rental in a week... great. you're up to date. mostly. believe me, there were more ups and downs. mostly downs.

and something I've mentioned before: we listen to a lot of music. like, a lot, a lot. like, when we ride in the car, we rarely don't have music on. But we had been out all day, stuck on the side of the road, and then switching out rental cars and ughhh it was a looooong day. and after we were finally on the way home, we didn't turn the music back on. It just didn't happen.

and I almost asked my dad to turn it on and then I stopped for a second because I realized I didn't really want to listen to it. I was too tired to even ask. 

and then as we rode along in the silence, I realized I actually liked the silence. I liked being alone with my thoughts. I liked to have my own thoughts to myself. I enjoyed not having the music decide what I thought about. 

I liked devoting my entire attention to thinking.

Crazy, right?

But as I've thought about it, like, it makes a lot of sense to me. Music is not only entertainment, but it takes up the spot that your brain uses for thinking (I don't know if this is like legit science, but heck, my experiments could make this a law.

and no wonder it's so nice to fall asleep to music: it stops your creative thinking. It doesn't let your mind wander and it fills up some of that empty space your mind tries to fill when your hands aren't doing anything (i.e. at night!)

Ironically, a song comes to mind: Let's Be Still by the head and the heart.

It says it all... to music.

The days turn into the months the months to years.
So just for a moment
let's be still.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

week twenty-seven : the first of july...

Oh, my heavens. I have no words. Or maybe I have to many words. Sometimes I get those two things mixed up.

I made a calendar in my art journal for the month of july and I've had something going on like every single day (baseball games, hitchcock in theater - what is this, 1948?, starting work, film class at the library, meeting someone tomorrow to help her learn to use her camera, then I have a surprise photo shoot that I won't talk about until later, dropped a sister off at the airport for a three-week trip, and a about a million other things that I don't have the brain capacity to think about at the minute. goodness.) 

I had a really fun week, but I can't exactly say I enjoyed photographing it. To be honest, I don't love the light in these and light is my favorite thing about photography. looking at these pictures, quite honestly, just makes me kinda sad. But I did it, whether I'm proud of it or not...

So here's my first week (and change!) from July. Make sure to link up with Rosi from Everyday Joy for our Thirty-One Days of Summer!

day one: my younger sister has gotten into lettering. more power to ya, girl friend.
 day two : I'm trying hard to remember what kept us out late, but my brain is drawing a blank? I just remember being exhausted and thinking about all the things I hadn't done... and then just going to bed. Now that I think about it, maybe it was a baseball game? They won, whatever day we went.

day three: ice coffee? yes, please!

day four: happy forth of july! (I'm not gonna lie: my firework photography sucks. time to move on.)
day five : muffins. channeling my inner Algy from importance of being earnest. Oh, Oscar Wilde. *deep sign for such beautiful language*
day six : as of last saturday... WE HAVE A NEW ROOF!!
day seven : there was a beautiful, soft light shining in my window... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
day eight : Went to see Rope at the louisville palace theatre. it's just got one of those vibes, ya know?
day nine : went to the farmers market and came back with blueberries. I mean, why else would you ever go to the farmer's market, amiright?

Friday, July 8, 2016

fabulous friday // gifts (and yes I'll come to your graduation party!)

Recently I've been to four graduation parties (five graduates.) Yay, congrats, guys! You rock. Go forth, conquer the world.

Or whatever you do after graduation.

One of my favorite summer activities this year has been wondering where everyone will be, say, ten years down the road. What job will they have? Will they be in the career they want to be in now? Marriage? Kids? Will they still be living here? 

How will those guesses match the result, though, I wonder...

Some of these people have their lives in order, down to a science. Others are going free-style, but have a lot of direction. Others are playing it by ear.

and I kinda wonder who will succeed? and then I wonder what counts as success? Good job? Good marriage? Stay-at-home mothers (they're all girls)? Traveling the world? 

or just plain happiness? and I guess in that regard I can bet at least four of them will achieve success (and I don't mean there's that one who's a loser, I just mean, chances are, at least most of them will end up pretty happy. Who knows which four?) But then I wonder how different their paths will be and once they've started to go their own ways, will their connections slowly melt away til they're just names? 

eh, probably.

but isn't that the fun part of life? you never know. and you get new friends all the time.
hey guys now that I've gotten all faux-deep on you, let me talk about something practical. gifts. I do a lot of gift shopping (not so much for graduation parties, but you'd better believe we have a lot of birthdays around.)

and let's be real: gift shopping is so darn hard. Especially if you need to be at the party in an hour and you're shuffling through target racks like uhhhhhh?

and I've bought too many mugs now. I'm pretty sure almost every friend I have has a mug I gave them. if not two or three.

and lemme tell ya, it's not because the mugs are so dang awesome.

Moving to kentucky brought out quite a few things I was not aware of before. One is how you give gifts. People here give a lot of gifts that are like a huge jumble of stuff. girly-girl? she'll get flower clips, flavored lip balm (2008, much?) a notebook, cool pens, maybe a purse... It's like they pulled off everything they saw at Claire's and stuffed it in a bag.

and I don't mean to sound rude, I don't mean to be rude at all (I'm guilty, too!) but it feels impersonal and slightly frustrating because like, why can't we get this person an awesome thing and maybe even save money instead of a million and one things that may or may not be her taste (not) and she may or may not ever use (not.) 

But my main point being: mish-mash gifts are a thing.

and let's be honest: generic gifts are sometimes needed because we don't know everyone like a best friend. It happens. 

But let's do it well, guys. It's called World Market. (not sponsored!)

I have an inspiration board, called, *cough* Gifts.

Since we're going to do a little bit of everything in the gift, let's do it right. We don't have to know everyone like the back of our hand. but hey, we can have some tricks up our sleeve, right?

hey, it's from YOU
Give something that reflects who you are, too. Keep it personal. I don't mean necessarily something you'd want to get, but hey your reputation as a gift-giver could be at steak (IS at steak) with every gift you give. make it worth it! 

The closer the gift is to something you like, though, the more interested you'll be in picking it out and  you'll be able to be way more creative because you relate.

and everything else rides on this. This is probably the weakest link in people's gift giving. So make it strong.

Let's play stalker
if they're female, you'd better believe they have a pinterest account. if not two. Go stalk. It is probably one of The Best tools when finding the perfect gift. and I don't mean just check out their "I wannteee itttttee" (plz no) I mean really look at what they like. (and find something in common!)

Experience speaks louder than words
(Uhhh, what's the phrase?) When you come to your wits end give them something you've enjoyed doing. 

I'm not saying a trip to broadway, but what about your favorite album (like coldplay or andrew mcmahon in the wilderness *coughcough)? 

Keep it contained, creatively.
If you're going to give a mish-mash of gift please at least stick to one genre. Why give a pen and a notebook and hair clips, like no. and this is where I shine: think of something that the person likes/is (e.g. bookworm.) and then follow some rules. a book is great. how about a fuzzy socks and a pack of tea to go with it? It doesn't have to be book + bookmark. Get creative with it. Again, go for experience!

Kick it up a notch
A book is a great idea... How about a hard-bound from bares & noble? They're beautiful. and also, make sure it's one YOU loved. then bingo, you have something else in common with them. right off the bat.

Recent gifts I've given...
lounge pants, chocolate, and one of my personal favorites : Tuck Everlasting.
next up : this was for a semi-bookworm who enjoys writing. It's like my go-to mug, but dressed up. yes, please.
A mug with a tea strainer, an adorable can of honey (ahhhh) and a pack of four teas. Oh, and I baked a mini-loaf of lemon-poppy-seed tea cake (I baked four and gave her one. I did NOT give her one already cut. ha!)


What your favorite go-to gift? What's the best gift you've ever received?

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

week twenty-six : fireflies

I posted about fireflies last year but my photo shoot was far from what I wanted it to be (I wanted it to be nice not lame. which really should not be too much to ask, right? but fireflies are hard costumers) so naturally I had to give it another go. last year I came away with about fifty photos of blurry, dark, out-of-focus, confusing, ugly pictures of, well, mostly dark, and a spot of t-shirt here or there. and I think maybe one firefly?

Nice.

But in all honestly, firefly catching is mostly dark running around with shouts of, "I FOUND ONE I FOUND ONE" and "OH!" and "OVER THERE" 

I don't know if fireflies can hear, but considering how they never seem to be where we are (grass is greener...) I figure they probably can. 

my point being: It's not all that pretty catching fireflies, but it's something I want to remember. 

So last sunday (for those of us who don't know us: we never get home sunday nights before 9:30, but this was an exception) I grabbed my camera and younger sisters -- who are always willing to go outside -- to go and catch fireflies. 

and catch we did. It was quite exciting. 










This is actually might be one of my all-time favorite pictures. I love how she runs to greet whoever is coming home. She's seriously one of the most exuberant people I know. and it's very sweet.

What's on your bucket-list to capture this summer? I challenge you to make sure you get it this year!!

(and to my american friends: Happy Forth of July!!)