Archives for February 2013

stubborn love.

February 12, 2013

Winter is kind of a stubborn love isn’t it?

I’m being dramatic, but it totally is.

You get these good days (Christmas! Snow! Hot Chocolate!), and then you get these really dark, cold, forever long days where you don’t do much of anything and feel a lot like a nothing in this crazy mix of seasons.

Dramatic, I know, but completely true. For me at least.

I’m ready for spring already, but from the looks of this past weekend, winter is just not ready to budge yet.

STUBBORN, that winter.

And blah.

Anyway, to help with the winter blues I’ve been pouring all my energy into this etsy shop (opening Friday!) which in turn means I haven’t had much left for the blog lately. I’m kind of bummed about it— this not having time and energy for writing and story telling, but know it’ll all even out soon enough. Also, winter isn’t the best match for me and inspiration, so I’m fine with taking it slow for awhile. Slow and steady till we get to spring, that’s how we’re going to do it around here.

I took a handful of pictures in Boston after the storm (which was pretty sweet), but instead of sharing my photos I thought I’d lead you to some of my favorite Boston friends who did some great photo recaps of their own experiences with Nemo…

BEHOLD!

THE BLIZZARD SNOW!!

via:

Melanie + Bridget + Clair + Alex + Smita

Preeeeetty sweet, like I said.

And also, while we’re on the topic of stubborn love (and the entire reason for this post)…

THIS BAND:

And more specifically,

THIS SONG.

I can’t stop listening. It’s been months and months, and I JUST cannot stop listening.

Most recently, The Lumineers came out with a music video for “Stubborn Love”, which I A-D-O-R-E:

“Stubborn Love”, The Lumineers

I cried, if you’re wondering.

Big tears.

It could just be winter making me emotional, but I don’t know. It’s sad and happy, but mostly sad. That kind of feeling that hits you right where it hurts, and then hits you again where it hurts so good.

Do you know what I mean?

Anyways, this one’s been on repeat for me for forever. What’s on repeat for you?

41 Comments · Filed Under: life, music ·

VENICE // travel memories.

February 7, 2013

{A few weeks ago, I went looking for pictures from a past adventure to Venice, a trip Zan and I took what seems like a lifetime ago. For years I thought these pictures were only able to be viewed as thumbnails or actual prints, and was pleasantly surprised when I was able to download them in their full size, which prompted me to write this post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.}

When my sister went abroad to London in 2006, my family and I visited her for a week over Thanksgiving (another post for another time!). Zan was there, too, living and working in London. It was really perfect actually. We had a wonderful time on our trip to the UK, and I even stayed an extra week… touring and playing with my sister and her college friends. And that’s when Zanner and I decided to take a little weekend trip to Venice. Because when you’re already abroad… why not?

We flew for $15 dollars or something crazy like that. It’s like that over there— they have the CHEAPEST flights. And it’s the best.

There is so much to say about this trip, but it’s hard for me to find the words to say it all. Also, time has blurred my memory a little, which is inevitable, but makes me a little sad. I have bits and pieces in my mind. About getting lost plenty of times, wandering the alleys and walking over bridges and streets along the canal. We found little wine bars, ate pasta and seafood, and gelato. We went to the islands of Burano (where they make lace) and Murano (where they make glass). We loved visiting the markets with meats and fish and jewelry and clothes. One of my favorite places in all of Venice was the Grand Piazza San Marco. It’s a beautiful open space and St. Mark’s Basillica can be found in the public square (along with hundreds and hundreds of pigeons). We walked and walked and took in the views. We had the most amazing time. When I look through these photos my heart aches for travel. I hope I appreciated all of this beauty while I was there. I still remember it as being the best vacation of my life, so I’m pretty sure I didn’t take a single step for granted.

Anyways, I hardly want to clog this post with words, because I think the pictures speak quite perfectly for themselves….

Sigh.

I could cry it’s so crazy beautiful.

I would give just about anything to go back.

Someday we WILL go back. We’ve been dreaming a lot about traveling to Europe lately.

But until then, I’ll just be thankful that I went.

And that I have these pictures and memories in my heart to prove it.

42 Comments · Filed Under: nostalia, travel ·

snapshots // winter edition.

February 4, 2013

You know what the thing about winter is?

It’s freezing cold and the sun doesn’t like to come out a lot. I like to complain about it, but the truth is, I’m used to it. It’s all I’ve ever known, really. I grew up in Syracuse, dubbed as the “snowiest city in America”. So, yeah, I like to complain, but this whole winter thing is nothing new to me. I grew up with it, I went to college with it, and now I live in a place that continues to embrace it every. single. year.

{except for last year, and that was weird.}

But the REAL thing about winter is that’s it’s okay to be lazy. It’s okay to wear the same thing over and over every single day and it’s okay to hunker down and hibernate. Goodness knows I have been, and I hope you have too.

Here are some other fun facts about different things I’ve been up to lately…

1. This is the view on my drive to work. Every day it is beautiful, but on especially blue days it’s my favorite.

2. About a year ago I started to write “A Guide to Boston, according to me”… after a few hours I became increasingly overwhelmed and I gave up on it {typical}. It now sits in my drafts folders just waiting to be brought to life, or rather, waiting for me to get inspired to work on it again, but until that day comes I will tell you this: if you ever come to Boston you must go to Bates Hall, the reading room inside of the Boston Public Library. It will be magic and you will not regret it.

Other places to check out:

Acorn Street and all of Beacon Hill

The Esplanade on the Charles River

Top of the Hub and the Skywalk Observatory

MFA and the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum

The South End on a Sunday

{Okay, okay, maybe I will go back to that guide someday.}

3. I’ve been super into the “Throwback Thursday” phenomenon lately. Can you find all the throwbacks sprinkled throughout this post? I got a bunch from my house the last time I was home— enough to last me a few more weeks at least. So fun and I especially love when other instagram friends do it too. I love old photos and especially love seeing friends in their little days.

4. Me, in winter. I hate the cold, but I LOVE wearing all my hats.

5. A few weeks ago I happened to stop into Urban during a super sale. I got these boots for $20 that day, and this shirt because, well, IT’S ADORABLE.

6. Garland is all the rage over in this neck of the woods.

Last month I put up this pretty paper garland in my kitchen from Sycamore Street Press. I’m pretty in love with it.

And last week I bought two more kinds of garland {one for my home + one for my classroom} from sweet Janee. She hand delivered my goodies to me while we sat and chatted over warm tea + coffee and the most delicious Buttery Biscuits. Janee has an online shop, Yellow Bird Yellow Beard, that is AMAZING and you can check it out here.

7. If heaven was on earth it would be here. I just know it.

8. Speaking of books, I just finished this one. Oh my. Oh, oh, my. Captivating, mysterious, full of love and hope and betrayal and longing. This book was wonderful. It brought me to tears and gave me chills as I turned the very last page. Everything I love about a well-written story. Tragically beautiful. I absolutely loved it.

ARE YOU STILL READING? Because I’m still writing…

9. Jarlsberg and raspberry jam on grilled french bread. Try that on for size and tell me that you don’t like it. I DARE YOU.

10. Me, in a dream. Except it was REAL. OH, my heart. Oh, my Venice. {working on a post! living in a dream!}

11. Being here reminds me of summer.

12. This weekend brought me to Allston for breakfast with my very good friend Clair. We hadn’t seen each other in MONTHS! And she just got engaged! So it was a happy reunion. I usually like to make jokes about Allston {I can, I lived there once}, but this venture out was worth writing home about. The Allston Diner is terrific, people. It truly, truly is.

13. A GIFT! From the nicest! Last summer Elizabeth started a pen-pal project on her blog. She matched up, as best she could, two readers together to be pen pals for the summer. My pen pal was Emily, a teacher from Santa Barbara, California {cool, right?!} and yesterday I got a gift subscription from her to a really great, well-known online software training website, Lynda.com. She read my recent blog post on photography and basically warmed my heart with her gift. Camera tutorials! Lightroom videos! Photoshop lessons! All at my fingertips. It really is the most exciting thing, and I’m so so thankful. Thanks again, Emily! I think you are amazing!

And that’s it, friends.

That’s my life in a nutshell.

{And apparently, in a really long blog post.}

HAPPY MONDAY! Keep it real, kids.

27 Comments · Filed Under: instagram, life, Uncategorized ·