le fisheye

 I am dreaming about this camera. Sadly, it's not first on my "to buy" list for camera equipment, but how damn cool is it? I mean, cool is an understatement, but you get me, right? It's chrome with smooth design and a touch of industrial. Tell me you don't want one, too...

today i'm feeling...

... a bit of California Love. Considering all we've done this summer driving all over this fair state, I think it's safe to declare, We Love Living Here. I know, I know... LA = fake people. Blah, blah, blah. Well, you know what? This girl's from LA and she's not too fake (rather down to earth, actually). And I know many folks I grew up with who are the same. Here's what it comes down to for me:

mountains for hiking & camping

+

beaches to dig your toes into

+

amazing, delicious cuisine

+

tons of art & culture @ your fingertips

+

fabulous weather (even on as we hit record highs)

+

wine country, expansive farm lands, fabulous shopping, I could go on & on...

Sure, there's traffic and high home prices and high unemployment at the moment, but hey, if you can deal with it, there's greatness to be found here. Lots. You just have to take a second to find it...

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the balance

Today, Hunky-Dory just about sums it up. Los Angeles is 107 dreadful degrees today. It's a Monday after a busy, tiring weekend. I'm totally underwhelmed in le old office job at the moment. BUT, I'm working hard on a little personal project. I've got the week's evenings blocked off for time @home. And I'm day three of an eleven day cleanse (which makes me very proud).

Sometimes you just have to weigh the good with the bad... and things balance on the side of "good"... leaving you... at hunky-dory.

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on being original

Exactly what I needed to hear after a long night (followed by a long day @ le office job) working on the new, fantastic secret project.

{ via here thru this little lady }

ming, make me a cupcake please

This morning I stumbled upon this website, Ming Makes Cupcakes. In true gluten-free-self-preservation style, I clicked right past it despite my curiosity. Fast forward to this afternoon, and lo, I stumble upon it yet again. Well, what's a girl to do but start perusing. Seriously. And to my delight I've found 2 cupcake recipes for gluten free souls, like myself. Please enjoy.

 

And for a little self-inflicted torture I'll include this:

  

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the countdown.

Today is Friday. And while my neighbors at work are counting down the moments until they can fly down the elevator to a glorious weekend, I am looking forward to a little something different*. Yes, this design-nerd is counting down the minutes until I have a quiet moment alone this evening to finally read / absorb / indulge in the first edition of rue magazine. Here's a little something to whet the appetite... (forgive me if I drool).

* Let it be noted that while I am shamelessly far more excited than I should be about the above, I should also allow a moment of excitement for the fact that I'll be in wine country this weekend. Yes, I'll admit, I'm also terribly excited about that.

hot cross buns

Tonight is about these people.

This relationship.

This intense friendship.

It's been building over time.

Years, actually.

I think together we will conquer the world.

We will grow together.

Grow old together.

But tonight, we're going to just relish in us.

Relish in this...

{love}

outlaw love

While at the Renegade Craft Fair a few months ago, Katie and I stumbled upon this print. We read it. We paused. We cackled. (One of us chortled, but I won't say whom.) Suffice it to say, this is funny shit. A signed print now sits, framed, on my bar at home... I'm just sayin'.

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you are special

Today I fell upon this plate online. My heart fluttered. You see, when I was growing up we had this plate:

My mom pulled it out of the cupboard on every special occasion she could think of, always with the intent of giving us an extra bit of attention in our otherwise hurried lives. I remember that even when times were hard, money was tight, and there was not much "extra" to spend on treats, this plate was always there to punctuate a moment. Even when I hit those dreaded teenage years and was too cool for nearly everything in sight, I always (secretly) looked forward to using the You Are Special Today plate. And now, as I look to starting a family of my own, I think this Paloma's Nest version will be just the perfect addition to our little cupboard...

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yoga, marriage & football

This morning as the sun rose, Nick and I headed out the door for his first yoga class. I took him to my favorite local spot to practice, Yoga House. We were both a wee bit nervous; he with the fear of "embarrassing me", but me with a fear that he'd hate it and never want to return. As he explained his fear walking in the crisp morning air to the studio, I laughed a little and reassured him. I, however, was not released of my fear until I saw him out of the corner of my eye valiantly holding pose after pose, breathing deep breath after deep breath.

My discovery? In the quiet moments when I heard his breath I fell just a little more in love, realizing that although we were very different people four years ago when we decided to spend the rest of our lives together, each day we take a step closer to the other. This part of marriage, my dears, is simply magic. It's the reason people "do" this, I think... to have that person by your side working to be better, breathing deeper and growing in ways you never thought possible.

Now that Nick's crossed over into yoga, how will I respond? I'll probably have to take the leap and (gulp) watch a football game this weekend. But, hey... it's all about sacrifice, right? I mean, growing. Yeah, growing...

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for annie

{find a quiet place and spend a few minutes of your day watching this... it will fill your soul with warmth & your eyes with tears}

enjoy.


Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.