Rise and Shine

So I think I'm still riding the good mood wave from yesterday and I was even able to fit in a workout before work today and I hope this giddiness lasts me until class tonight. In the meantime, here is a video from Mayer Hawthorne, (who I first heard on "The Peak," I told you it was revolutionary) and any of his songs will put you in a good mood - I can almost guarantee it.

 

Official Video for "The Walk." You should also check out one of my other faves, "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'"...actually, they're all pretty good.

Relaxing Sunday

Today was one of the best Sundays I've had in a very long time. It started out with a hike in unseasonably warm weather...what could go wrong after that? I even made a trip to Barnes & Noble and got some Christmas shopping done. It was completely relaxing and it felt like I was living a double life. I know once tomorrow comes I will be busy with work and school work (semester is almost done - the end's in sight!) so it was nice to pretend like I didn't have a care in the world today.

I heard these guys on the radio today (107.1 "The Peak" revolutionizing my travels) and found their mellow sound pretty soothing and fitting for this lovely day.

I have also been thinking about the holiday season and what I can do to really get in the spirit this year. Sometimes I feel as if I'm too busy and I let the holidays get the better of me and succumb to stress and a cold but not this year! I am determined to make the absolute best of Christmas and New Year's. I am going to watch Christmas movies, (Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone 1 &2, at least one clay-mation film anyone?) bake cookies, (chocolate chip, oatmeal-craisin-white-chocolate-chip-walnut, peanut butter & nuetella sandwiches, snickerdoodles, sugar) compile the ultimate Christmas mix to jam out to in the car, make a gingerbread house (farm/ranch) and hopefully do a little something to give back that is non-gift related. I feel as if the holiday season becomes too commercial. I long for the Christmas we spent in London and Paris; it's much simpler and more traditional there and I'd love to emulate that feeling this year.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful this year, (just like every other year) but I feel like I am in a really great place in my life right now where I can take pause and truly appreciate everything and everyone I have. You all mean the world to me and have made me the person I am today. There is a quote that I happened upon (Cup of Jo) that made a lasting impression....this Thanksgiving, take the time to appreciate everything in your life - including yourself.

"I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool." -- Theodore I. Rubin 

Eat, Laugh, Love 

The Place

So, I absolutely love small intimate restaurants tucked away in the heart of NYC and The Place is no exception. Honestly, if you walked around inside my head, this is what you would find. It's a cozy little place on West 4th street, (one of my favorite 'hoods) with two fireplaces, exposed stone & beams, dim lights, groovy tunes, and the food? Organic and Amazing. I highly recommend it.

 Cozy.

This is one of the appetizers I had as my meal...the other was butternut squash and apple soup. Seriously.

Wishing for a lazy Sunday

So I'm a bit ashamed to say that I am nursing a hangover (thankfully, it's only a slight headache) this morning so I'm a little slow moving. Can someone please tell me when I got so old?? Strong coffee, music that's easy on the ears, and some delicious oatmeal are helping me recover... Lots to do today.

Arcade Fire & Neil Young "Helpless" at the Bridge School Benefit back in October

On that note, I think I will start my day.

Bon Weekend

Appreciate how rare and full of potential your situation is in this world, then take joy in it, and use it to your best advantage.

                 - Dalai Lama 

Home is where... I would find these things...

I was thinking the other day about my ideal home...not too big, not too small, juuuust right. The thing is, my "perfect home" includes the following items: 

- a rotary phone, I don't even have to use it, I just want an old school rotary phone

- an old school tub, one not attached to a shower, with a really cool faucet, just big and in the center of a bathroom 

- on that note, a kick ass bathroom 

- and a kick ass kitchen, really open with lots of cooking space 

- a fireplace with a cozy leather couch next to it 

- BOOKS. Lots and lots of books, none of this Kindle nonsense 

- I really enjoy vintage globes, so one of those, near my books. Maybe a map too, with pins in it to show where I've been and where I still would like to go 

These things are in my mind's eye...I didn't want to include pictures from any other sites to mess up my "vision." That's all for now!

Yin & Yang... and I love them both

My personal style airs on the side of the first image - relaxed, tomboy style - especially on the weekends. But imagine being someone who could be both of these women? Rockin the sequin evening gown on Saturday night, chillin in your boyfriends clothes on Sunday morning? Oh, the life.

So much JCREW, so little $

It's almost absurd how much my love for JCREW grows each time I receive their catalog in the mail...

Yes, Please

Edun Sweater Skirt

Tom Ford Glasses

Dior Ring

A Realtionship Epiphany

I realized the other day that in order to make a relationship truly work and stand the test of time, (any kind of relationship really, romantic or otherwise) the above must be true. Because most of the time, life is boring. And if you can do your own thing sitting next to me as I read a book or write, if we can coexist in the most boring of times, and I if above all I want you there when I'm being completely ordinary, well, then, that's pretty awesome.

Sunday Mornings, Overeasy

Today is an Eddie Vedder kind of day. Normally, Sunday's have this negative stigma that hang over them like a dark cloud, and for most people it is the day of the week that they cram in every last thing they have to do. Sunday becomes the last day of the week instead of the first. My Sundays are usually reserved for a workout, academic work, cleaning, laundry, maybe some grocery shopping, etc. But lately, instead of chugging down my coffee on the way to the gym, I've been taking the time Sunday mornings to sit and enjoy that cup of coffee and listen to some music, maybe read a bit. It made me realize that yes, these activities are necessary and mundane, but they don't have to be torture. I just needed to new perspective. Thanks Eddie.

  Also, what a great movie.

Happy Friday

I wish this Friday had the same sense of excitement as some of my other Fridays but the amount of work I have to do is a bit overwhelming and I have to take a New York State Teacher's Exam tomorrow. I know the work will get done and the test will go well, but I'm in one of those moods where I just want to write. I'm feeling particularly inspired lately (I don't remember the last time this happened - it certainly has been a while...then I start to wonder why I am feeling this way, what is inspiring me? and then my brain just keeps going in circles and off on tangents...really I can't imagine what it looks like in there) and there are these emotions, thoughts, feelings, and ideas that are occupying too much space in my brain. When this happens I find that I get a bit short-tempered and just want to escape somewhere and write until a feel a little less restless. I am craving a place that is spacious, quiet and secluded...kind of like Jack Nicholson in The Shining before the crazy redrum kid appears. But since this is real life and I have responsibilities I can't run away from, these thoughts will just have to continue to roam about my brain until I have the time to sort through them.

You cannot find peace by avoiding life.

- Virginia Woolf

Mixing genres and time periods...

This picture has nothing to do with this quote other than the fact that I love them both and find them inspiring.

 

(Steve McQueen & Ali MacGraw)

"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it’s these things I’d believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn’t all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything."

                        - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Where in the world...

would I like to be right now?

It's hard to imagine being anywhere other than New York right now - the leaves are still colorful and on the trees and it is unseasonably warm. It is by definition, the perfect autumn day. BUT, inspired by NBC's "Where is the World is Matt Lauer?" I found myself daydreaming about where I would like to be, you know, if I was a newscaster, or a person with expendable income. These are the first five places that came to mind.

 Anyone who really knows me probably knows that on any given day, my number one answer to the question: "Where would you like to be right now?" would be Paris. I know it seems like a typical girlie answer but I adore Paris. Have you ever walked around someplace foreign and felt completely at home? There is a reason Gertrude Stein called America her country but Paris her hometown. I have never been to Paris in the fall and I imagine it to be a magical experience. Joie de vivre!

Are you ever in the mood to feel completely alone and content? I would love to be lounging on Megans Bay in St. Thomas pretty much any day of the week. Feeling stressed? Picture yourself on this secluded beach for even 2 minutes and you'll feel better instantly. My schedule this week is pretty demanding and I've found myself yearning for this carefree life.

Charlotte, NC seems like a pretty mundane destination, but sometimes it isn't just about the place, but the people who are there. My cousin is a Freshman at UNC and it's her birthday this week. Ideally, I'd love to hop on a plane and go down and visit her and relive some of my college glory days. We would go out to a delicious dinner at some exotic restaurant, (we share, among the same middle name, the ability to consume copious amounts of tasty foods) and then, when too full to move, settle in and watch some chick flick. Her optimism mixed with my cynicism leads to colorful discussions on life, love and "adulthood." I miss her dearly and I'd love to be able to see her this week.

Rio de Janeiro. Why? Well, for one, my brother is dying to go there - it's on the top of his travel list and it was it was his birthday yesterday. Brazilian food and culture is alluring and intoxicating. And the forecast? 80 and sunny this week.

Anybody can be a runner. We were meant to move. We were meant to run....

... okay, if you say so...
Congratulations to all of the NYC Marathon runners! I know several people who ran, and I have to admit that I think they're all a little crazy...you have to be, to willingly run 26.2 miles, right? (I'm really just jealous of all of the people who have the courage and heart to run marathons, maybe one day I will be one of them?) But yesterday, Geoffrey Mutai (clearly meant to be a runner) broke the course record by more than 2 minutes - finishing in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 6 seconds. Ridiculous. Also, a word of advice to you non-marathoners out there: watching the marathon on TV while working out yourself, just makes you feel slightly inadequate...just sayin.

Sunday Funday

So my "Sunday Fundays" are a little tamer than one might imagine. But it's beautiful out. I am drinking some hazelnut coffee with almond milk. I am listening to "Ceremonials," the new album by Florence and the Machine. Honestly, I don't know how they did it - it's just as good as "Lungs." It's going to be my new CD that I play on repeat. I'm reading the NY Times; if you want an inspiring story, click here. And before you judge me, I was directed to this article by a friend, I was not aimlessly wandering about the "Modern Love" section of the Times. Although, so what if I was? I am beginning to realize that there are worse things in life.

Love.

Saw "In Time" on Friday...it was nothing to rave about. But I fell in love with Amanda Seyfried's wardrobe, shoes and how awesome her legs look in those platforms.

Swag.

I forgot about one of the best lines in movie history until I randomly came upon it today. Talk about swag. I am caught in the middle between finding his confidence completely irritating and completely intoxicating. Thus the basis of his appeal I suppose...