new year.

quote.

"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks and feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

december.

A few winter pretties to brighten your day. 

quote.

adieu.

This (along with that other lovely write up) is my parting gift to the summer.

It's been grand!

preach it sister.

I'm Sick of Summer
By Stephanie Georgopulos

I'm sick of summer, the sticky skin and the sweaty sheets. I'm tired of competing with the din of the air conditioner and of listening to stories about trips to nearby shores I have or haven't heard of. The sounds of summer are starting to grate, the kids shrieking through sprinklers and the announcement of the ice cream man as he circles my block and your block and every block; can't he tell we're not interested?

I'm tired of shaving and swimsuits and sunscreen, sick of days so long they stretch out for miles. I'm sick of looking at my shadow and thinking about my body and I'm tired of you looking at it. I'm tired of the dresses and how they cling to my torso like wet newspaper or blow in the hot thick wind, revealing all my secrets. I'm bored with showing my toes, bodred with giving everything away. 

I'm sick of watching the shirts with sleeves hang lonesome in my closet, I want to put them on and let you take them off. I want to wear the kinds of things that don't slip off in an instant, the kinds of things with zippers and buttons and layers and depth. I want to feel soft, I want the comfort of a comforter, I want to spend Saturdays in bed with all the windows open. 

I want to spend Sundays in cars with the windows open, too, driving to fields where apples and pumpkins grow. I want to taste the thick of fall in my mouth, in pies and brews and hot coffee. I want confusion over whether or not to wear a jacket and confusion over what hue that tree was three weeks ago, I want everything to change so that I can feel like there's reason to be alert, like there's reason to wake up again.

Because I'm sick of waking up and going to work and being reminded that summer is just summer and not ~!SUMMER!~. I want the feeling of going Back To Something, the feeling that something has moved or morphed even if it's just the pigment of the leaves or the size of my jeans. I'm sick of the stifling summer, its constant heat and relentless greens. All I want is fall, so I can pretend a drop in temperature and a shift in color means things will be different from here on out. 

via Thought Catalog.

mfa.

I cannot get enough of art museums. When I was in college I made every excuse to visit the Getty, every excuse. During my flight to Boston in April I created a bucket list that is (needless to say) every growing - one of the first places I wanted to visit was the Museum of Fine Arts. I was lucky enough to find out that there was free admission on Memorial Day, so I made the trek on the T and to my surprise found a rather large line of little children on their way into the museum as well. Should have thought of that before, but just another excuse to return and absorb some more culture - baby scream free. 

chuck close.

monet.

These pictures do not do the MFA justice, but needless to say I was in heaven. I may be investing in a membership pass. 

quote.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. 

This is to have succeeded. 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

holy images.

I stumbled upon these beautiful images on NPR this weekend. The photojournalist Betty Press lived in Africa for a little over twenty years, and captured something beautiful. Press stated in her interview that she went to Africa to photograph images of  "beauty, creativity and courage of the people," versus the poverty stricken Africa we seem to be inundated with on a regular basis. Her new book, I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom In Image and Proverb (filled with all these lovelies)...now on my Christmas wish list. 

I want this somewhere in my home...would make me smile every time.

thoughtful.

This past weekend I came across my new favorite blogs. Etiquette for a Lady - full of smart, funny and inspiring quotes. Or should I say rules of life?

My personal favorite...

Also check out Etiquette for a Gentleman.

with a little help from my friends.

Guess what this lady found on Netflix...The Wonder Years. 

The best television show ever. 

 

Kevin + Winnie. You rock my world. 

"I'm young. I live in a house my father owns, in a bed my father bought. Nothing is mine...except my heart and my fears and my growing knowledge that not every road is gonna lead home anymore." 

Any other favorite television "oldies"?

result of love.

Maybe it's because he is French...but I love what he is saying. Preach it. 

via The MGL

quote.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." 

 - Mark Twain

cha cha cha changes.

Can someone please take me here? Pronto? I feel like the last two weeks (and the rest of my "summer") have been crazy and out of my control. I do not appreciate it.
 So ready for some normalcy and a chance to relax.  

You know those days in college when people were telling you how they wish they could go back to college and appreciate it more? Maybe take more mid-day naps? 
I now completely understand what they are talking about. 

serenity.

Originally I had nothing big planned for this past weekend...but things quickly changed. I was asked last minute to puppy sit in White Salmon, Washington (For those of you who are not from the Northwest, White Salmon is just across the river from Oregon). I have always loved the drive from Portland to the Gorge. The view changes so dramatically,it's hard to believe you are only an hour away from the city.

As soon as I took the pups for a walk...

I started up the grill, popped open some sauvignon blanc and slipped off my shoes. 

 I was in such awe of this view. It just became more and more beautiful! 

Olli...the cutest labradoodle. Who loves him some rainbow sandals.

 Mt. Hood.

I love the city, but I could definitely get use to this view.