Friday, January 27, 2012

happy weekend

source
My friend, Carrie, showed me this graph the other day.  It pretty much sums up my daily life.

Hope you all have a great weekend filled with cheese!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

friendsgiving






Here are a few much overdue pictures from the Friendsgiving we hosted back in November. I know they don't feel nearly as exciting now that the holidays are over, but I just wanted to get them out there to share with all of you.  I promise this is the last of the long over due photos...for awhile anyway.

Monday, January 23, 2012

blog love: hooked on houses (and a great home in camden, maine)

Alright, I wrote a big long thing on how Dan's mom introduced me to this blog, Hooked on Houses, and how I love it so much I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, becuase all I want to do is spend hours every day looking at all of the homes Julia, the blog's author, has profiled.  And then when I tried to post this from my iPhone this morning, all of the content was deleted.  Sigh.

So, in an effort to just get this out there (I'm on my lunch break, right now!), I'm going to forego all of the jazz about wishing I could afford a $2 million house in my favorite place in the whole world (Camden, Maine) and just let this amazing house speak for itself.









Also, you should definitely check out Hooked on Houses - just be sure you have plenty of time to spare when you do.  Because I promise you'll get sucked in.  Also, if you do happen to have a few mil floating around, you can contact the realtor here.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

random recent favorites

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These photos have stood out to me over the past few weeks as capturing a mood that feels relevant right now.  Perhaps it's the muted colors reminiscent of winter greys, or maybe the hint of warmth from brown and wood and copper tones that makes me think winter's not that bad...or maybe it's that I've found myself craving a newfound simplicity to life lately and none of these pictures (save the chandelier) feels too extravagant.  Whatever it is, I like these images and I hope you do, too.

Monday, January 16, 2012

alone

For the past 4 days, I have been "alone."  Dan's been in Colorado since Thursday and doesn't come back until late tonight.  I know it's not a long time, but it's funny how used you get to having somebody else around.  I definitely felt lonely at times, but it also felt so unexpectedly luxurious to be by myself.  To go to sleep when I wanted, wake up when I wanted, and have nobody to report to at all.  Not that Dan makes me report to him or forces me to sleep at certain times...I'm making our relationship sound horrible right now! But, you get what I mean, right?  Sometimes, it's just kind of peaceful to do whatever you want.

This video has made its rounds on the Internet, so you may have seen it already.  But I think it portrays being alone in a really honest and beautiful light.  Check it out.  Let me know what you think.

 

Monday, January 9, 2012

miss these guys

zoe

joey

maggie
These are Dan's parents' pets, Zoe, Joey, and Maggie.  I got to see them during the Christmas festivities (well, minus Zoe who's quite skiddish) and I miss them.  Maybe Dan's parents will go out of town soon and need a pet sitter? If so, I'll be sure to be available.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

becoming blonde

I have been tempted by the thought of going blonde for awhile now.  Twice I got blonde highlights that lightened my hair a bit but were so few and far between that they were barely noticeable.  I know it's kind of ridiculous, but for some reason I feel that dying my hair makes me inauthentic, as if I'm cheating nature or something.  Of course, the other factor that has prevented me from doing this is cost.  Highlights are SO expensive! And root maintenance adds up quickly.

But when we were in Vail, my friend, Carly, offered to do "heavy highlights" for me.  For free.  All I had to do was buy the $10 box of hair dye and she'd take care of the rest!  She's such a good friend :)  Carly is always dying her own hair and I have often felt jealous of her inhibitions in this area.  I wished I didn't care so much about whether or not my hair color was my "true" color, but rather could have fun experimenting.  Afterall, you only live once, right? In the spirit of change, I threw caution to the wind, gritted my teeth, and told her to go for it - to make me as blonde as she could.

I changed into some of Carly's "crappy" clothes (in case I got covered in dye), we ripped up pieces of tinfoil, mixed the dye (which became an unnerving blue color), Dan grabbed the camera, and before I had a chance to second guess myself, Carly got to work:


60 minutes and one empty tray of hair dye later, I was a blonde:


I am so glad I did this! Of course, I went through phases of loving and regretting it.  At first I was obsessed with it, hardly recognizing myself in the mirror.  Then, I worried I looked washed out.  That I should have waited 'til summer.  Now, I love it again.  And I think it's time to do another set - my roots are already starting to become noticeable.  Hair color aside, the most important lesson I learned from this endeavor is to not take myself so seriously.  This wasn't something permanent or life-threatening - it's just hair! I took the risk (if you can even call it a risk).  It didn't kill me. And I actually ended up being really happy about it. I need to apply this laid-back mentality to more aspects of my life.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

more pictures to share

{new digs}

{a fall bouquet from Dan}

{another breakfast}

{coffee in a locally made mug}

{herbs on the windowsill}

{short rib wellington potpie - check out my post today on The Loud and Clear!}

I have been busy getting things ready for the new website I'm working on with Jessie Fisher and Kate McCusker - The Loud and Clear! Check it out, let me know what you think, and subscribe if you want to hear more from us! We're really excited about the new project and we hope you will be, too!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy Birthday, L.L. Bean!

L.L. Bean is celebrating 100 years in business! As a Mainer, I feel a certain sense of pride in that - even though I have absolutely nothing to do with L.L Bean's success.  Maybe someday I'll live out my dream of working at one of the highly-coveted behind-the-scenes headquarters jobs, but until then, I'll celebrate with everyone else.  And maybe with a pair of these awesome boots? (I have a birthday coming up too, you know...)


Happy Birthday, L.L. Bean!  

october afternoon in the garden

{last forrages}

{sparkles}
{"i think she's pretty." "quiet, bud."}

{green light}
{a glimmer}
{winter nears}
{soft like velvet}
I took these pictures of Dan's mom's garden late one October afternoon.  It was one of those perfect afternoons when the sun's shining and it's not too hot or too cold.  One of those afternoons when you're accutely aware of winter's imminence, which makes the waning warmth of the sun feel just that much more opulent.  One of those moments when you realize just how fragile life is, how interdependent we all are.  A lingering quiet made the world stand still and I felt lucky to try to capture it.