Archive | Love a la Carte RSS feed for this section

115. Love A La Carte

13 Jun

Here is a list of great things in my life right now:

Tumtaster ♥ Jenn Grant’s Honeymoon Punch ♥ homemade guacamole ♥ key limes & seltzer water ♥ my first ever style consultation ♥ rewatching Season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy ♥ fresh, ripe pineapple ♥ lipstick in all of its many shades ♥ the Paper Source Colorscope (the color that jumped at me? FUCHSIA) ♥ Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads ♥ Paul Simon ♥ Stereogum ♥ Fringe ♥ air conditioning ♥ orange juice and echinacea ♥ my iPhone and it’s many apps (like WordPress, which I am using right now) ♥ a world of possibilities ♥ a color-coordinated organized closet ♥ new Nine West wedges and heels ♥ bright orange ♥ sunset beach walks ♥ flip-flops ♥ phone calls, emails, gchats, and facebook chats with friends far away and dear to my heart ♥ a meeting with a really classy lady this week ♥ Young Winos of DC facebook group#writechat ♥ my Twitter community ♥ a phone call with my brother who lives on the other side of the globe ♥ figuring out how to finally fix my hookah ♥ RapportiveThe Blue Key Campaign ♥ getting a signed copy of The Dark Wife in the mail! ♥

My life is full of happy things lately and I could not be more grateful. Thank you to everyone for making my life so full and lovely.

113. Love A La Carte

20 May

♥ Almond Cookie Tea from the Spice and Tea Exchange in Alexandria, Virginia ♥ Neil Gaiman writing for Doctor Who ♥ having a pool in the back yard ♥ working on a tan ♥ finding fantastic friends on facebook ♥ wearing jewelry every day ♥ a new blog layout ♥ having a place for everything and everything in its place ♥ having my computer set up again ♥ Elysian Fields ♥ sun and rain and warm weather ♥ pinks & purples ♥ The Gargoyle Cupcake perfume oil from the Misery/Love Co. ♥ “art rarely happens accidentally“ ♥ dialectical behavioral therapy, positive psychology, meditation and manifesting ♥ phone calls with good friends ♥ watching Iron Man with Dad ♥ having a real life fairy godmother gift me a great present from a great writer! ♥ amethyst for protection, power, wisdom and healing ♥ cuddling with a fluffy puppy ♥ hand-writing letters with pink pens ♥ exotic blooms ♥ iced coffee ♥ making handmade goods ♥ painting and sketching again ♥ Haley Reinhart singing Rhiannon on American Idol ♥ sewing ♥ watching a good friend put together a fantastic new website ♥ my iPhone camera ♥ Joe’s Eats & Sweets Key Lime Cheesecake ice cream ♥ The Sea Hagg ♥ having a few minutes completely to myself ♥ the azure blue of the Gulf ♥ Sharpie pens ♥

111. Love a la Carte

29 Apr

♥ My parents. ♥ Casey Abrams from American Idol. ♥ The best weekend ever, including: spending time with my sweetheart, girls night out, series premiere of Doctor Who, and lots of down time. ♥ Constructive criticism from good friends. ♥ Adventures in Manifesting. ♥ An angel card reading from a dear friend. ♥ A girlfriend sending me the link to these Disney inspired princess wedding dresses and discussing which ones we might wear in our fantasy weddings (even though neither of us currently has plans to get married). ♥ The smell of clean laundry. ♥ Finally finding a sunscreen I can use on very sensitive-skinned face! ♥ Free samples of perfume. ♥ Plotting and planning with friends for Fairie Festival this weekend. ♥ Avocados. ♥ Receiving my alma mater‘s alumni magazine. ♥ MUSIC: (this week includes) Paul Simon, The Strokes, The National, Fleet Foxes, and Snow Patrol. ♥ Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. ♥

109. Love a la Carte

21 Apr

♥ Guilty pleasure tv shows, you know, the ones you watch when no one else is around to judge you (mine are Mythbusters, What Not To Wear, Pretty Little Liars, and Barefoot Contessa – what are yours?). ♥ My vision board, which I made with Oprah’s O Dream Board. ♥ Neon Trees. ♥ LUSH’s Turkish Delight Body Polish. ♥ Curling up with a handmade quilt and a movie on a rainy day. ♥ Text message reminders of love from 600 miles away. ♥ Tulips. ♥ Homemade pizza with friends. ♥ Perfect, sunny days for walking outside. ♥ Spring breezes. ♥ Finding great books at the used bookstore for a dollar each. ♥ Parks & Recreation. ♥ Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Powerberries. ♥ Neon pink nail polish. ♥ Coffeeeeeeee… ♥ Watching friends do awesome things like publish their own books! ♥ Singing. ♥ Sun and rain and springlike weather. ♥ Homemade Indian dishes. ♥

108. Love a la Carte

4 Apr

A list of the things I’m loving right now:

♔ The Princess Bride. ♔ The National & St. Vincent. ♔ Colored Moleskine notebooks. ♔ Reading BUST whilst on the treadmill. ♔ Dreaming in German. ♔ Candy colored Pilot pens. ♔ Traveling with Pomegranates. ♔ Pinterest. ♔ Bright pink. ♔ Keeping things clean and organized, making the bed, living in natural light. ♔ Guilty pleasure tv shows. ♔ Needing to use air conditioning instead of heating on the first gorgeous day of the year (85 degrees!). ♔ Green Goodness. ♔ Chatting with faraway friends via the internet. ♔

106. Love a la Carte

25 Mar

A list of the things I’m loving right now:

 

♔ North Mountain’s Sweet Caroline’s Blush – pink and sweet, but not saccharine – like drinking roses on a porch on a sunny Sunday summer afternoon. ♔ The Strokes’ Angles. ♔ Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ♔ Adventures in Manifesting eCourse & writing a blog to catalogue my challenges and achievements, Forming Today. I chose the name “Forming Today” for this blog intentionally as a way to see that I can form each day with my thoughts and attitude. Begin each day with gratitude and use meditation to clear the mind, write out thoughts and share challenges and accomplishments with others. I aim to make each day special with positive psychology and through authentic happiness. ♔ Gala Darling’s website. ♔ Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Morocco perfume oil. ♔ #u30pro chat (Thursdays, 8:00pm Eastern Time). ♔ Dark chocolate M&Ms. ♔ Daffodils. ♔ Longer days. ♔ Packed boxes. ♔ Finding old writing buried in my gmail account. ♔ Pictures tagged “love” on Flickr. ♔ Harney & Sons organic peppermint tea. ♔ Tarkan. ♔ Instagram.

074. Love A La Carte: Short and Sweet Spring Edition

25 Mar

♥ Check out this lovely interview with one of my favorite design and fashion bloggers, the wonderous Nubby Twiglet.

♥ In honor of the fabulous Alice in Wonderland movie, musical genius Danny Elfman interviews cinematic treasure Tim Burton.

Helvetica Cookie Cutters & a Yellow Tea Submarine – the perfect tea time treats!

♥ Want to get away? Check out the Huffington Post’s 15 suggestions of Places to Visit This Decade.

♥ Art is a universal language. Want proof? The Global Action on Aging reports on Art for Refugees in Transition, an International Example of Intergenerational Solidarity.

Sweet Tooth? Cupcakeries are sprouting up all over the place in DC and many other cities, too.

♥ Creative geek Felicia Day linked to this wonderful article on Twitter: Everyday Creativity (from Psychology Today).

The Definitive Color Wheel from Fuel Your Creativity

070. Love A La Carte: What’s Sweet Edition

12 Mar

Love A La Carte features all the little things that make my life just a little more delicious.

MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC: of all kinds. Lately: Enya, Motown, Chuck Berry, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Imelda May, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ryan Adams, Kate Nash, the Smiths, M. Ward, She & Him, Greg Edmondson (the Firefly soundtrack), Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, Sondre Lerche, Erlend Øye and Kings of Convenience. What music are you listening to lately?

♣ Long-distance phone calls.

♣ Emails from friends who might as well be family, who have known you forever and known you through everything beyond life itself.

♣ My iPhone and all of my nerdy news apps: BBCNews, Huffington Post, NYTimes, and NPR, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Yeah, I’m a huge dork. I embrace it.

♣ Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil.

♣ Multi-grain tortilla chips.

♣ Going to the salon for hair dying and new style. Pampering myself in general. Might even get a manicure!

♣ Making peace with the fact that I can’t afford graphic design school just yet. But I will find a way. I am determined.

♣ Having guy friends I can just chill with. The balance of energy is different than with girls and I’ve missed having friendly, non-romantic relationships with guys.

♣ Hot caramel mochas.

What’s making your life sweet this week?

061. Love A La Carte: Where It Stops, Nobody Knows

24 Jan

♥ Seth Godin tells us exactly what we don’t want to hear: No, everything is not going to be okay. (Except reading this post really made me feel like everything IS going to be okay. How did he do that?!)

♥ Need a laugh? You must check out Sleep Talkin’ Man, who says things like “My bagder’s gonna unleash hell on your ass. Badgertastic!” and “Oompa loompas don’t sing in heaven. They tidy up the clouds.” The transcripts his wife posts online mornings after are hilarious. And very odd. But mostly just hilarious.

♥ This year, I want to get back to basics: writing in a paper journal. I found some great inspiration on how to turn a (cheap!) composition notebook into an art journal at Lil Blue Boo.

♥ Have you heard? Pantone Is Blowing Up In 2010.

♥ Do you have a thirst for giving? Try KOR’s water bottles, each benefiting water-related issues: ocean protection (blue), watershed protection (green), container recycling (orange), and global water crisis (pink). They’re beautifully designed and these innovative products reduce environmental impact (plus, 1% of all sales goes to water-related non-profits).

♥ Need a little zen in your life? Check out the Zen Salutations blog. You might also want to check out 8 Unconventional Ways to De-Stress and Relieve Tension.

♥ Need a pick-me-up? Try 14 Ways to Beat the Blues.

♥ I am in love with the whimsical style of Randi Brookman Harris. Her prop styling and creative direction is quirky, but simple and pretty. I particularly love the bright colors with white for weddings (she’s done styling to Martha Stewart and Kate Spade). Lovely!

♥ This first look of Zac Posen for Target is awesome and I can’t wait to see more. I particularly love that red cocktail dress. It’s sexy, cute, and classy all at the same time!

♥ Do you love Helvetica? Ever wonder why? Well, here’s a testament to the Simplicity of Helvetica (along with some history of the font, too).

♥ Possibly one of the prettiest weddings I’ve ever seen, straight out of a fairy tale. Every detail in this collection of photos is filled with magic. From the beautiful, intricate headpieces, to the priestess’ staff, the flowers, the shoes. Everything looks as if it were sprinkled with fairy dust. Gorgeous!

060. Love A La Carte: Hibernation

20 Jan

pie pops

Pie Pops from Bakerella

Love A La Carte features all the little things that make my life just a little more delicious.

♣ Going to bed early with a book and snuggling into the covers. Right now I’m reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief and Eat, Pray, Love. I’m making reading a priority again this year and I’m hoping to complete 26 books this year – that’s one book every two weeks. What are you reading right now?

♣ Chili of all kinds: white, bean, meaty, so spicy it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Our church is having a chili cook-off on the 31st and my roommate is making her “World’s Spiciest 5 Bean Vegan Chili”. YUM. There’s something so comforting about a big bowl of chili. It’s tasty; it’s healthy; it’s comfort food. What’s not to like? Best when served with cornbread, of course.

♣ God Help the Girl.

♣ Movie marathons with good friends. There’s nothing better than settling into a day of laughter and fun indoors when it’s cold outside. Of course, board games and card games work, too. It’s more about the company than anything else.

♣ Starbucks gift cards.

♣ All the awesome Alice in Wonderland related things lately: Alice on SyFy (dvd coming in March), Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (coming to theaters in March), the soundtrack and score to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the Interactive AdventureUrban Decay’s Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows Palette, and the following from Etsy: this lovely charm necklace, this whimsical White Rabbit necklace, these distressed tags with ribbonthe Mad Hatter tote bag – perfect for your copy of Lewis Carroll’s works, and a great necklace which proclaims proudly the most famous line “curiouser and curiouser” for all to see. Anyone else love this story as much as I do?

♣ Warm sweaters and sweatshirts on cold winter days.

♣  My tattoos (I have two and I’m sure there’s more coming). For some great blog entries on tattoos, check these out:Tattoos, TattoosTattoos; and Tattoo Tuesday v2.0.

♣ Wearing my boyfriend’s flannel pajama bottoms to bed.

♣ Hot cinnamon spicy tea.

♣ Reading about happy things on It Made My DayWhat made your day today?

♣ My office is doing a Jeans for Haiti week – we get to wear jeans all week Tuesday – Friday this week if we donate $10 to rescue efforts in Haiti. A coworker organized and took donations and I think almost everyone in my office donated. ROCK ON. If you’d like to donate to the relief effort, check out the awesome work that 12for12kis doing and donate here: http://12for12k.org/2010/01/13/12for12k-supports-hope-for-haiti-please-help/. 12for12k donates the money to Hope for Haiti(And, considering Avatar cost 4 times more than the amount of money the US government is sending to Haiti, perhaps you can skip seeing it (again) and send that $10 to the relief efforts. What do you say?)

055. Love A La Carte: Auspicious Beginnings

5 Jan

♥ The New Year started on the night of a Blue Moon. That has to be a good omen, right?! I’m excited.

♥ Who loves Edward Gorey? I know you all do… so head over to the Blah, Blah Blahg and get yourself the Edward Gorey font!

♥ If I had a million dollars, one of the things I’d buy would be this amazing Ellen Von Unwerth photography book. Is anyone else drooling as much as I am?

♥ I’m totally obsessed with Marc Jacobs’ new perfume Lola. It’s sweet, it’s spicy. Everything a feisty femme like myself could want in a perfume. Not to mention the bottle’s gorgeous, too. Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. ;)

♥ Iranian men cross-dress for women’s rights. As Alex DeBranco says, “Hey American guys — won’t you dress in drag to support women’s rights, too? ‘Cause every girl’s crazy for a sharp-dressed man.”

♥ My friend from college, Zia, just started blogging a new creative venture. He’s a very talented musician and a very intelligent guy. His first post is called Why You Should Create Something in the Next 24 Hours. And why shouldn’t you? Stop making excuses and DO IT.

♥ Are you driven by passion? How does that work for you at work? Lauren Fernandez writes about the benefits of using your passion to fuel your career. Great discussion in the comments, too!

♥ No matter how bad it seems, believe in yourself and you will come through.

♥ Can’t wait for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland to come out in March? Me, either. Well, while you’re waiting, why not check out the Alice in Waterland collection at Elena Kalis Photography (Thanks, Kate, for the link!)

♥ Check out this luscious ruffled coat that Franki found. It’s by Lia Lintern and I can’t wait to see what new things come up in upcoming season collections.

♥ What better way to recycle cardboard tissue paper rolls than by building a forest with them? Yuken Teruya made this Corner Forest. And I happen to think it’s absolutely the bomb. Check out the amazing shadows created with the cut-outs and relief. Love love love! (via Lushlee)

♥ If you have not already become obsessed with Florence + the Machine, you’re missing something. I’d give my left arm, or maybe my left lung to see her in concert.

 

051. Love A La Carte: Returning To Light Edition

22 Dec

from weheartit

♥ If you’re like me, you’re probably looking for a great bed to hide away in with a book while the weather outside is frightful. Take a gander at this nook bed complete with reading lamps and fluffy down pillow and comforter. I’d love to have one of those!

♥ DC is getting a taste of European simplicity with a new crêperie at the entry to Gallery Place. They are serving up both sweet and savory dishes and are in a prime spot for walk-in traffic. I’m making it a point to check out Crêpes on the Walk before it gets so popular there are lines around the corner.

♥ Interested in archaeology? This Tinysaur would make the perfect addition to your desk space. I think he’s adorable. But I’d have to find him a more adorable and clever name than Rex.

♥ These pretty prints and paper goods from Little Galaxy make me want to sit and write letters all afternoon. If you could write a letter to anyone, who would you write? What would it say? Would you write a story? These works of art are full of fanciful imagination. Inspiring!

♥ No matter if you are an aspiring photographer or professional artist, this adorable FujiFilm Instax Camera will win your heart. While not quite like the ancient Polaroid cameras, this one is lightweight, fashion-forward, and prints clear credit-card sized photos in just a few minutes with a click of a button. Great for photos of family and friends to hang in your office, cubicle, or workspace; perfect for documentation on shoes for storage boxes (or anything else you want to put away for a season or two); ingenious for all those times you want to take photos which can’t be deleted just as easily as taken…

♥ Take a few moments to check out the Freckled Cup, an artist collective that showcases the beauty of people, light, warmth, color, lack of color, skin, touch, mountains, exploration, and most things in between.

♥ Want to leave a little something sweet for Santa? Why not try making these adorable Candy Cane Christmas Tree Cupcakes instead of cookies this year?

♥ Find out from Copyblogger Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants.

♥ Lover of literature? Why not read Pride and Prejudice told through emoticons? Gave me a laugh and made my day.

♥ If you don’t have a foot fetish now, you might have one once you see these sexy little peds. These hot little numbers peek out of the toe of your shoe, lending a little lingerie to to those dainty little toes.

♥ I love music, particularly when sung by feisty females. This folk-rock duo call themselves Garfunkel and Oates and are just as quirky and strange a combination as they might appear. Making cuss words sound cute and addressing themes like one night stands and singing songs titled “Pregnant Women Are Smug” and “This Party Took A Turn For The Douche”, these California cuties are on my permanent listening rotation.

♥ Try these dreamy photos for a little inspiration: rumor has it they’re from 1962, the same week Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection was shown.

♥ Ever wish for a simpler time? Learn How To Sew A Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew.

And, with that, my friends, I’m off to Florida to visit with my parents and brother for Christmas. I’m not taking my beloved MacBook, so it may be a while until my next post. I hope in the meantime, these links will keep you satisfied and sated. More next week after I return from my trip.

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...