invincible summer.

outdoor havens outdoor havens outdoor havens

sources // one. two. three. four. five. six. seven.

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I know just the other day I said I was ready for winter, but always, always I am ready for summer, too. It’s endless, honestly and I would never want it any other way. Also, I haven’t been writing on this blog much at all lately, but I am still reading them. Always, always reading.

Designlovefest has been on my reading list for a little over a year now because I’ve really been drawn to her love for color and creativity. Also her L.A. life intrigues me– it’s so drastically different than mine! Recently, she’s made a pretty noticeable shift in her content back to the basics of what’s inspiring her and I’m digging it. I like it because it’s exactly the kind of blogging I used to do when I first starting keeping an online record of things. Just inspiration. Straight up. And I love that.

Anyway. These outdoor havens are giving me total heart eyes right now. Winter may be here but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream of the pretty green hues of summer. Plus, I see that 5:00 glow slowly coming back. Happily on the upswing to the light.

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// the photo links are likely a little willy nilly
on the original source front, but I tried my best.
Pinned here for more outdoor oasis viewing. :)

peace and quiet.

breatherboston

My ease back into daily life has been, well, fairly easy and breezy which is really, really nice. It is summer vacation for me, after all. Between a bit of tutoring, some summer workshops at school, and finding a place for each of our new gifts, I am finally getting the break I needed after that June crazy. Good crazy, but crazy all the same. This was planned just so, of course. We had two options for wedding dates with our venue– one in the middle of June, and the other at the very end of August. With the August date I would have had a lot more time to plan without the end of the year school stress but the June date would give me more time to reflect and enjoy the memories of it all. And that made the choice incredibly easy.

Right before our wedding Breather contacted me to see if I’d like to try out one of their spaces for a few hours. Breather is a company that rents out gorgeous rooms around the city. You can use the rooms for just about anything your heart desires and can use them for as little or as long as you’d like. I was too busy to even think about giving it a try before the wedding, but was certainly intrigued. I also knew how many photos I would have after our trip. Photos to be sorted and edited and blogged — the perfect reason to test out a Breather space. And perfect timing too because this week has been HOT! With no AC at home it was really nice to get away to someplace cool for a few hours.

There are 5 locations in Boston and I reserved the room at 715 Boylston Street {right across from Lord and Taylor} and my sister and I made an afternoon of it. We picked up some Flour for lunch, brought our laptops along, and mostly just enjoyed the light and bright — we loved it all!

breatherinc-13

breatherinc-17breatherinc-18breatherinc-2-3breatherinc-2-5breatherinc-19 breatherinc-3-3 breatherinc-9 breatherinc-15breatherinc-2-4breatherinc-20

This space in particular is HUGE. I spent some time while we were there brainstorming all the different things you could use it for. Dinner with friends. Craft night. Yoga party. A holiday shindig. I mean, your house is fine for all of these things, but sometimes change is good, you know? I could absolutely see myself reserving a space while visiting NYC {42 locations!!!}, as I often find myself needing a recharge during day trips. Will obviously also need to go back to San Francisco for this gem, and Montreal! DIVINE! Coffee shops are nice, but these rooms are nicer. And perfectly pretty, too!

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If you’re interested in trying out Breather for yourself, go ahead and use the code

“DEARFRIEND”

for one free hour at any breather location.
Fingers crossed it’s in your city! I know YOU WILL LOVE IT!

saturday links.

Processed with VSCOcam with 5 preset

This weekend I’m home alone. It’s kind of exciting having the weekend to yourself, in an I CAN DO ANYTHING! sort of way. I spent last night sitting on the couch eating cooked kale with lemon and dried cherries. They were the only unsweetened dried fruit I could find, and as it turns out, they were delicious. I watched the first episode of Call the Midwife, then face-planted into my bed at 11:00. What a dream. This morning I woke up before 8, had my eggs and butternut squash before 9, and feel pretty darn good about today.

March is here, and spring has got to arrive at some point. I’m hopeful.

My sister sent me this piece by David Sedaris. I smiled the whole way through, first because I love David Sedaris and could imagine him telling the story in that way that he does {I love listening to his books on CD}, but also because I feel EXACTLY the same way about overhead lighting. Too good.

In an effort to reach my 10,000 steps each day I’ve taken to the gym. I went FIVE TIMES already this week because I absolutely have to get my steps in. It’s not a question, I just feel that I have to. What a win. And so, I asked my friend Rachael to suggest some of her favorite podcasts, because I trust her with that sort of thing. Each one she recommended I tried, and I loved.

After the Jump

The Sounds in My Head

The Writer’s Almanac

I also love This American Life, which my mom introduced me to a few years ago. What are your favorites? I’d love to give them a try.

I loved this essay on The Eighty Twenty, and I’m so excited about their new book club, too. I think I’ll pick up One More Thing this weekend at the local book shop.

This blog is one of my very favorites for fashion finds. {Madeline is also a long time favorite twitter friend.} I haven’t bought one piece of clothing in 2014 {CRAAZY! I know!}, but when my hiatus ends, Uberchic is where I like to get my shopping ideas from.

Do you meal plan? I never did before I started Whole30 {I never spent so much time in the kitchen either!} but this instant download from Brim Papery is awesome.

Jolie also had some free desktop wallpaper featured on Designlovefest a while back. I downloaded them all and added them to a folder on my computer with a bunch of other favorite desktop backgrounds, then I use them all to rotate through a screensaver. You should try it! More great desktop freebies, curated by Kate, here.

And, I think that’s it for now. I’m off to get some goodies at Follain, and maybe even throw in a trip to IKEA because I’m feeling wild.

Have a lovely Saturday. The sun is out so let’s rejoice.

weekend links and musings.

weekend-

Last night we got pizza delivery and hung out sprawled on the couch, each on our respective ends, legs overlapping in the middle. I was hovered over my book and Zan spent a few hours watching his “stories”, as he calls them. When my eyes got heavy {around 9:00} I laid the book on my chest, settled in and closed my eyes. I never feel guilty about doing this on Friday nights. By the end of the week I’m always the most exhausted. Too many early mornings and my brain works on overdrive during the week. This morning I woke up around 9:30. 12+ hours of sleep and my body rejoices! I felt the urge to get up and do something, go somewhere as I often do on the weekends, but it only lasted a moment today. When I looked outside and saw the grey sky my mind changed. I cozied into my warm flannel bed for another hour, finished my book, and sipped my coffee slow.

Winter is good for slowing down, I’ve come to realize. There is freedom in not doing much and not feeling bad about it. And I’m down with that.

Here are some things that have gathered in my browser this week— things I’ve been loving, and reading, and pinning…

The Eighty Twenty // A brand new online magazine started by some of my favorite bloggers. Essays, book reviews, advice, recipes.

KNIT 101: A Knitting Series // One of my favorite blogs, Bleubird, is hosting this knitting tutorial series by Rebekka Seale. From what I can tell so far, it’s slow moving {the way I like it} and the photos are spectacular.

Iviebaby featured on Etsy // so proud of my friend Elizabeth. Chase your dreams and catch them, girl.

This 2014 calendar printable calendar // simple and lovely.

VSCO Journal // I am always up on the VSCO journal, but I particularly loved this feature and this one, too.

Bridget’s Make Way for Ducklings Tour // CUTEST. My heart.

Notegraphy // a really cool way to add graphic design to your writing. I love it.

Place boards on Pinterest // Inspired by Kate, I plan on making my own “Boston Favorites” placeboard, and also think this feature will be great as we plan our west coast trip for April. Speaking of, I’ve already started a WEST COAST TRAVEL pin board for trip/photography ideas. Smiling like a fool when I think about it.

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Tonight my sister and I are headed to the National Figure Skating Championships at the Garden. Thanks to all these comments, we have more than enough places to choose for dinner {I think we’ve settled on the new Ward8 for tonight}. It’s fun to have this list for later, too. Thanks for dishing out your ideas, if you did!