I'll take one, please.

I would love to add this book to my collection.
500 pages of inspirational style . . . yes, please!

image via amazon.com

Weirdness

I just looked at elements of style, a blog that I frequent and it is kind of weird to think that I was thinking what she was thinking only moments before she was or maybe around the same time. I wonder how many other people have kindness on the brain today. Maybe the world is just in a particularly giving mood today and everyone is reacting to it.

. . . I hope it will stick.

Redefined

I know that I am just one of many faithful readers of Domino who was really sad when the magazine closed its doors this past Spring.
My subscription was replaced with Architectural Digest, which was really funny since David was just about to start his grad program in Architecture - but I was not appeased. The magazine is great, but it is no Domino - not to me, at least. I loved Domino because it showed design that I felt was within my scope of ability and possibility.

I was really happy to see this announcement posted on M.A. Belle:




In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages...

OUR MISSION is to reopen the doors of accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means that we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live.
At Lonny, we value independent thinking and believe not in following trends but rather in making choices that lead to happiness. We believe that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces.

Coming Fall 2009 ;)

Super exciting news!
I think an online design-within-reach magazine is a wonderful idea! I'm sure it's been done in some form before, but I really love all that Michelle Adams does at M.A. Belle, so I know this will be a magazine I will want to read!
Can't wait for Fall 2009!

Kitchen Love

I LOVE this striped floor from simply seleta! (I found it at Brown Button)
Once we actually own our own home, I will be installing my very own version of this flooring!
So lovely and simple. I adore the idea of black and white flooring with white cabinetry. It allows for interchangeable punches of color - like in the curtains, appliances, dishes, artwork - I could go on and on!

I could also handle this kitchen scene from Charleston Home Magazine. ( also found at pink wallpaper)


These dishes would look lovely in any kitchen. Exposed shelving is a MUST. Dishes this pretty should never be hidden! And I love the double nickel apron sink. I would remove the "double" part and it would be my ideal sink - that or a white apron sink!

And how adorable is this little breakfast nook from I Suwannee?

I could see myself wanting to eat breakfast there and read there and just relax there every morning!

Ahhh . . . I can't wait to have our own home!

Kindness

I'm a quote collector.
I know. I can't help it!

I've experienced a lot of kindness in my life and I don't ever want to be foolish enough to forget how important being kind and receiving kindness is.

Here are a couple of quotes about kindness from great men. I like to write quotes like these in my little book to look at and remember.

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind." -Henry James

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." -Dalai Lama

When I think of a great example of kindness, I think of my grandmother.
I love this photograph of her. She's holding my older brother, Aron, when he was really sick.
I love her and I love how good she was to everyone she knew.

Trail Blazing

I'll take the ZARAs for late summer and the Urban Oufitters for fall!

top two images via ZARA
bottom two images via Urban Oufitters

Madewell Looks

I'm loving the new Madewell lookbook. It's full of great pieces that can be switched around for tons of simple, effortless looks!








Love the cardis, the tees, the boots, the jeans - love it all!

Good Times

This past week we had our GA Tech friends over on Thursday for a game night.

This is about half of the summer studio class.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a little
play time mixed in with all of their hard work!
We ordered pizza and I made homemade blueberry
and blackberry pies . . . yum!

We played taboo all night - great game!

Dvaq was really excited about his turn!

Milan and Jonathan had a picture war.

David looked photogenic, as usual!

But naturally, the girls kicked tail.

I believe the score card reads 1,000 to 5!

After a great game night, we decided to do

dinner and a movie Friday with Jonathan and Milan.
We ate at a great Italian place, called Dolce and saw
the new Harry Potter. It was a late night, but a good one!

I'm grateful that my David takes time out of his crazy
school schedule to spend time with me. It means a lot to me.

I'm really loving Atlanta and all of our great, new friends!

The Ones We Love

The Ones We Love

My friend, Anna, posted this website on Facebook and I fell in love with it. It is a collection of pictures photographers have taken of people they love. Each photographer lists their name, location and birthdate and then a writing about the person or people in the photographs. Some of the writings are short, and some are more like a paragraph, but all are so interesting in context with the pictures. I'm thinking of doing my own version here of all of the people I love!
Hmm . . .

Instrumentals

For some reason, I'm in an instrumental music mood today. I thought I would share some of my favorites!

1. Simple Gifts - performed by Aaron Copeland
2. Letter to Harriet - performed by the Original Cast & Joseph Vitarelli, from My Architect
3. Theme from Sophie's Choice
4. Le Moulin - from Amelie
5. Sur le Fil - from Amelie
6. La Valse D'amelie - from Amelie
7. The Wings - performed by Gustavo Santaolalla from Brokeback Mountain
8. End Credits - from Pride and Prejudice
9. My Father's Favourite - from Sense and Sensibility
10. Sandra's Farewell - from Big Fish
11. Little Women Theme
12. Main Theme - from The Last of the Mohicans
13. On a White Lake Near a Green Mountain - M83
14. Piano Theme - from Legends of the Fall

-these are just a few of the many instrumental pieces I love!

-Also, all of the music from Life As a House is beautiful. It is one of my favorite movies. I can't listen to the theme without crying. There are very few movies that I feel have moved me as this one has. Watch it.

image via amazon.com

Rain on the highway = scary = not happy

I just experienced the worst night of driving of my entire life! I went to visit my parents this weekend so that David could spend time working on his huge, time-sucking project. My mom had some projects that needed to be worked on around the house, so I thought I would lend a hand and spend some quality time playing games and watching movies with the fam. I decided to come back to Atlanta at around 7:00pm this evening. Little did I know that the sky would open up and unleash a torrent of rain and wind as I was driving down I-85. Not fun. The rain was so scary. It was so horribly blinding that all of us on the highway could only go 15mph for about 20 minutes. I felt like I was an inch away from losing it for the duration of the 45 minute downpour! I'm actually in the Architecture studio at Georgia Tech right now, writing this, while David continues to work on his project. I need some sleep and I need never to drive in weather like that ever again!

Food for Thought

I subscribe to Gywneth Paltrow's weekly newsletter GOOP and I usually like the different topics of each letter. Sometimes she does lists of great places to visit in different cities around the world. Other times, the topic is more metaphysical and she consults various experts to tackle the question at hand.
For this weeks newsletter, she talks about a detox that she recently completed. I read up on the ins and outs of the program and I think it's a little intense for me (plus it's pretty expensive, $350). David and I did a detox once, eating only fruits and veggies for a week. We stopped a day short of completing the detox, not being able to take the headaches (I was a wuss). I definitely saw a difference in several aspects of my body during the detox. I think this detox Paltrow mentions is a little too involved for me, but I really like something the doctor who invented the program says in the detox guide. He talks about whether or not one should experience hunger during the detox. His response to the question is as follows:

Consider the possibility that you don’t really know what being HUNGRY is. In our cities, very few know hunger. What we call hunger is often just the desire to eat. The body sensation that we interpret as HUNGER is many times more accurately distinguished as boredom, anxiety, fear or another negative emotion if let alone and observed. This is a golden opportunity. When that sensation arises, do nothing. Be aware of it and keep your attention on it. Ask yourself; what is this sensation ? Soon enough you will notice it disappears without any food consumed. If done often times, you may succeed in RENAMING it altogether. Doing so will prevent you from eating for the wrong reasons. This is many times referred to as Emotional Eating. This is probably one of the main reasons Human Beings get to be overweight.

-Dr. Alejandro Junger

This may seem rather obvious to some, but it really struck me as something I need to think more about. Food is wonderful as a tool to nourish and energize us, but I think too often, we allow food to come to mean more to us than it should. Since we have moved to Atlanta, I have had a lot of time on my hands in my quest to find a job. I spend way more time at home than I ever have before. As a result, I find myself eating out of boredom. I think this is a negative pattern to fall into, because it leads me to eat more food than is necessary for my nourishment.
There are some who might say that daily indulgence is what life is all about, but I think that discipline with occasional indulgence leads to a much healthier sense of self.

Just a thought.

Happiness Is . . .

Along with realizing how long it's been since I did a Currently Reading post, I also realized it's been a while since I've done a Happiness Is post. And I have a lot to be happy about.

1. fireworks
2. finally having an interview
3. cleaning and organizing
4. the moment David opens the door
5. writing
6. ipod playlists
7. making running goals
8. fresh summer veggies
9. rain on the roof
10. frozen yogurt

Cuteness

Another adorable leather jacket / dress combination from NAST.
Love it!

Currently Reading

I just realized that I haven't done a "Currently Reading" post in a long time.
I've been finishing up a few books that I had previously started, but never finished.
Now I'm on to a book that I have wanted to read for some time.

I'm currently reading For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.
I haven't gotten very far into it, but i really love what I have read. Hemingway is the master of conveying wonderful imagery through minimal language. The main character, Robert Jordan is currently en route to blow up a bridge in the mountains of Spain. I love all of his encounters with the residents of the mountains. I was interested to learn that the novel takes place during the Spanish Civil War, a war I'm not at all familiar with. Most of the modern literature I've read deals with the two World Wars, so this should be a nice change of pace.

I have to admit, my primary desire to read this novel arises from my interest in the title. I love John Donne's Meditation 17. Hemingway snagged his title from the famous section of this Meditation.
It's beautiful:

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if
Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse,
as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor
of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death
diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. -John Donne


I wish we all thought about these words a little bit more.



(original text)
(image via Bookpoi)

Summer

My idea of summer . . . I want to be there.

image via The Sartorialist