Take that, Monday

Phew, happy Tuesday.

There's this group here in Worcester who gets together at Green Hill Park (think huge, green hill) and watches the sunrise every Monday. They usually bring warm drinks and breakfast to share.
They call the group "Fuck Mondays."

I like that idea.

Well anyway, I felt blue without E and was in a funk after watching Grey Gardens alone. Work was lame. Also I eat horribly when Eric isn't around.
(eating horribly = leftover soup and cheezits with 2L of water and an apple)
So I got back at Monday, because naturally I blame all of the above on a day of the week. I feel like posting some more pictures. Don't get bored with me, pleeease!

To get back at the worst day of the week, my friends and I went to Nick's for some class (and karaoke).

1. Tina and Lyd singing "It Takes Two"
2. Pat and some ambiance
3. pretending to be weirded out (only pretending!)
4. back at the Boulevard, check the framed picture.
5. we took off our jackets and stayed a while.

Lastly, my baby sister is HOOOOOME from Germany!
I'm leaving tomorrow after work to spend the rest of the week in Boston, glued to her side hopefully.

Tell your gra'ma and your mama too

Flares are coming back! Eric doesn't believe me.

I thrifted these Gap flares on 1/2 off Wednesday at Salvation Army:

I think they're wicked cute, even if they kinda make me look like I have no bum.

(The wooden heels on my feet are Nine West. Got em at the last swap.)

I apologize for the incohesiveness..icity.. er.. but here are a few other photos of happiness from my week:

I woke up to a bouquet of roses from E on Monday morning.

They made me blush and then cry. (I may or may not be on my "lady days"..)

E snuggling Nugget.

We call her Schnugget, because she likes to schnuggle.



Fun print on a button-down I also thrifted on Wednesday.

I can't wait to wear it with a thick brown leather belt!

This week has been another sort of hectic one. Lots of working and spring cleaning and nights out. (How come people think going out on a Thursday night is a good idea, anyway?) I think part of this weekend is going to be used to recover from the week. In addition, next week Eric is going to Minneapolis for 3 nights and I am already starting to miss that little stinker.So I'll also be pouting around the house following him like his shadow & soforth to show my protest.* And, the night he flies in, I'm heading home to Boston to spend Wednesday-Friday with my sister who by the way comes home from Germany on Monday!!! Very excited to snuggle up in her twin size bed and talk and laugh til we fall asleep.

I even miss her really loud snore. I do.

*Here is something I like to do: give him a hug then not let him go for a really long time until he ends up having to drag me around with him everywhere, then he usually gets annoyed and breaks free. Then I laugh and he scowls even though I know truthfully he's quite amused.

Currently listening to: "Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio

This is happening

1. hotel vernon a.k.a. kelley square yacht club. and these guys are just havin fun.
2. i owe pat an expensive shot of whiskey for those tickets.
3. boulevard diner in the middle of the night. worcester is famous because it's got so many diners! wahoo.
4. lyd and i actually didn't have pancakes. we split the french toast. (everybody knows it's the best thing at the boulevard.) paul got something meaty i think.
5. the moon on a cloudy night (not the night i should have been photographing the moon) from my back door.
6. tokyo tramps with jon short at beatnik's. yeah.. they play the blues.
7. i had to post two pictures of the tokyo tramps because they're just so awesome. plus i love the drummer's shirt.
8. roo vs sweater.

..also, this is the best day ever because one of my very best friends just sent me tons of new music as well as a local zine from her home in Seattle. such a huge fantastic score, which explains why i'm up at 1am on a Tuesday. Roo is snoring up a storm next to me, and i should have been in bed hours ago, but i finally just can't stop listening to the newest LCD Soundsystem.

(oh & scroll down in case you missed my very first outfit post! heh.)

Nineties I hated you, now I love you kind of.

I'm kind of excited to share my first outfit post with you! 

Truthfully, I don't know how often this is going to happen, 

but I'm hoping at least once a week.

I forget which days I wore each of these things. 

It was such an insaaanely crazy week.

Later on this week I'll share some photos. 

Jacket: F21

Sweater: Old Navy outlet

Hoodie: Express, thrifted

Jeans: Charlotte Russe

Boots: Old Navy, swapped

Necklace: my mother's

I desperately need a new pair of jeans.. Why are jeans so hard to shop for??? 

That tribal printed hoodie was a sweet find from Salvation Army. My friend makes fun of it, but ya know? I hated the 90s trend at first. Hated it. Something about it has really caught on, I must say. And I wish I had gotten a better shot of both the necklace and the boots. I get so many compliments on the necklace and I wish I could say where my mom got it but I just don't know, and she doesn't remember. The boots were one of the best swap finds ever. Sadly after wearing them to work pretty much every day, I think they're pretty spent.  

(How could I not post this one with my bird on my head? It's his favorite perch. 

And no I have never gotten pooped on while he's been up there! :) )

Sweater: Gap, thrifted

V neck: F21

Belt: Old Navy outlet

Skirt: Lord & Taylor via Alexis Grace Consignement

Flats: Old Navy

(Bird: Muchachon, cockatiel)..hehe

I can't tell how I like the red shoes, but in general I think sandals would work best with this skirt. Such an amazing find at Alexis Grace. I just love it. It's a little big for me, but I like how the length turns out as a result. I love the gray on gray on gray. I know for sure that I was inspired by an image on The Sartorialist but I can't really remember which one, other than that it was in the autumn. I chose no jewelry on purpose, which some may say is crazy given my collection (which is way overboard!). I just think it didn't need any. It was just right as it was, and any jewelry at all would have made it too busy. 

What do you think?

I also need to add that I'm not a total hippie even though I have a large tapestry hanging on the living room wall. I just love India and happen to have dreads, okaaaay?

(I just had to say that because I'm so often stereotyped.)

Do you have any characteristics that make you the victim of stereotyping as well? 

How does it make you feel? How do you respond to it?

I'd love to know!

When I saw this cover of Elle I fell totally in love. 

Kiera Knightley looks so well put together and it seems the perfect mix of professional and fun. 

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Last week, this lovely lady made the inspiration board below

which sent my thoughts right back to that March '10 cover look I loved so much. 

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I love it! I'm so inspired. 

In scanning my closet, I found that I have basically every item.. 

except of course the glitzy skirt. 

I'm now on the hunt!

Another plus to me is that would be great for spring and fall!

Cupid and Psyche

Earlier in the week, I began reading "Till We Have Faces" by C. S. Lewis. 

It's a retelling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. I've always loved seeing how artists portray various characters (like those in Greek mythology, as well as Bible stories, etc). I fell in love with these two below paintings of Cupid and Psyche.

They're both by William Bouguereau. 

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I really like that she was painted with butterfly wings.

Psyche is the Greek word for "butterfly".

Aren't they enchanting?

"So you nurse your love
like a wounded dove
in the covered cage of night"

Anybody have any idea what these pictures are of??
(Gimme a break, they almost confiscated my "professional camera" and made me swear not to use it, so iPhone pictures are all I got!)

Bright Eyes!
We saw Bright Eyes last night at Boston's House of Blues.
It sounds weird to say I've wanted to see him for almost ten years... but it's true. I started listening to him back in high school. Our friend Pat got given the tickets for his birthday but found he had too much schoolwork (oh Harvard, give the guy a break!) so he asked if we wanted them. Can you believe that?!
He gave us tickets to a sold out show!

Let me tell you.
It is one of the best live performances I have ever attended.
They even played my favorite, which I totally was not expecting. (Arc of Time- hence the lyrics at the beginning.) Ugh. I could go on. And on.
It was.. an incredible experience.

Here are some favorites that they played last night:
Arc of Time
Bowl of Oranges
Road to Joy
The Calendar Hung Itself
Lover I Don't Have to Love (okay.. this song is really dark and messed up, but they performed it so well!)
et&c, et&c..

Eric made a good point.
He said it was the most depressing show he's ever been to,
but also musically one of  the best.
So, in short, I highly recommend that you attend the Bright Eyes show if they tour in a city near you.
Thankyou&goodnight.


___________________________________________________________________
If you're the praying kind, please say a prayer for all those affected by the tsunami in Japan, and also in Hawaii. I spoke to my best friend who lives in Maui, and am relieved to know she's safe and sound and out of harm's way. However, many are not..
Please go here if you wish to make a donation towards the Red Cross relief efforts.

1. bitter cold. headlights give me three shadows.

2. mai tais and other tropical drinks at Ding Ho downtown.

3. laughter ensues.

4. ben and i laugh about how small eric's head will be once the beard gets the ax.

5. at the Vernon, this round's on austin.

6. jess lets me photograph her in front of the colorblocked us of a.

7. grooming. and breton stripes.

Well, I've got to brave the cold today for an appointment.

I mean it's only 35 out, so it's not miserabley cold.. but cold enough
especially when you're dying for spring!

Tonight we've got a small lent service at the Woo,

then I'm heading to dinner with a friend.

As usual.. I'm in the mood for Mexican. Ooh I could eat it every day!

I hope she's down.

Some cheery for my dreary

Today, morale has been quite low.
This is not good, considering it's only Monday.
Overall, we had an excellent weekend. It was jam-packed, but very fun and community-filled.
I'll post a few photos once they're uploaded.

Sprinkled in with the good stuff though, we got some pretty bummer news about some friends of ours. It's the second time we've gotten news like that in the past two weeks. That  mixed with some other not so great stuff going on in my co-workers' lives plus the rain/snow combo we're having right now just makes for a less than stellar Monday.

Anyway, this sure cheered me up:

See more here.

So funny, no?



After sending the link to Eric, he suggested we try some of our own with our cats tonight. I still have tons of construction paper left from my paper chain kitchen project, and laying around is the thing my cats do best! Should be fun and at least make us laugh a lot even if it doesn't end up working that great. Working with our hands on something fun that's sure to make us laugh is exactly what we need. :)

Tonight is our date night* and we're off to FLATS for our favorite pizza and a bottle of whatever we've got lying around.. don't you just love BYOB restaurants? So, after dinner, it's home to get crafty!

I hope you all stay cheery today, despite the fact that it's a miserably rainy Monday!

* I always thought date nights seemed lame, and a little like they were trying too hard, but with our crazy schedules it has become the best way for us to be intentional about setting time aside for just us. I've come to love date nights! This morning I woke up to a kiss from E before he headed out the door. He whispered, "I can't wait for our date tonight!" 

I feel excited and inspired and most ready for the weekend.

tribal nails.. so fun to create!

Currently I am curled up on my bed 

with an iced vanilla chai from Starbucks and the latest Vanity Fair.

I feel so cozy and content.

I'm working on planning a really fun Saturday.. I can hardly wait!

First thing in the morning, I want to make breakfast for Eric and the guys upstairs.

Depending on how tonight goes, I just might be ambitious enough to try

this yummy breakfast pizza..

(of course, substituting the bacon for something else. Mushrooms maybe?)

After that, we're going to the Worcester Art Museum

because it's free admission til noon the first Saturday of each month. 

Maybe next month it'll be nice enough out to walk over! 

(Lots of exclamation points.. I must be in a good mood.)

After the museum I'd like to do a little thrifting around Worcester, sticking to a $15 budget.

To me, thrifting is so enjoyable and relaxing. 

After that, I've got a few ideas about what we could do if we're not all about spent by then.

Eric's got mystery band practice randomly from 4-6, and while he's doing that,

I'll be tidying up around the house, and maybe I'll even get in a quick nap!

My goal for Saturday night is to have lots of friends over to play games,

and finish off with an old movie.

My vote: Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious.

SO in the mood for that. 

(In other news, Muchachon just nonchalantly walked across my bedroom floor 

like a tiny little human. He makes my heart swell.)

& now, for no real reason other than to obsess about my animals once more on this blog, here:

Lastly, I wish my weekend involved building myself this

ultimate pirate ship bedroom !!!!

But alas, that's not on the itinerary.

Pleaaaase tell me what you're up to this weekend! Anything fun?

Are you a planner or more go with the flow?

Fun Fact: I love making itineraries. 

Pippin

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As we consider adding another rescued bird to our family,

I can't help but be reminded of Audrey Hepburn's pet deer.

I often look at my compassion toward animals as a burden (seriously!)

..and if you spent a day at our house over the summer, you might have seen why.

But I can't just let them go on being homeless or neglected, can I?

I have always felt a pull toward rescuing animals.

Truthfully the only thing that could successfully have me convinced to move to the country

is the promise of turning our home completely into an animal sanctuary!

Aside from that, I am a city girl through and through.

The text I received last night about this bird made my heart sink.

Maybe I can hire someone to take lots of glamorous photos of me and all my birds,

just like the ones of Audrey and Pippin.

(Try as I might, I just could not find any photos of her cleaning up the Pippin poo.

Or of him waking her up in the middle of the night for some attention.

Or all the houseplants he snacked on and consequently killed.

Or her signing off on all those vet bills.

Ahh well. I'm sure they had their moments. Right?) 

Emotional Healing at a quarter to 1.

My favorite books are a diverse group.

Everything from Calvin and Hobbes to Bukowski to Blue Like Jazz. 

After reading up on flowers poisonous to cats (Roo was trying to eat a daffodil), I was reminded of one of my favorite books: White Oleander. That led to looking the movie up on Netflix, and at 10 o'clock at night, I made the (probably unwise) decision. I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold and really should have been in bed by 8. Anyway, I watched it, and so many memories and feelings came flooding back. When I would think back to why this was one of my favorite books, I was often stumped, since I'd read it so long ago. Now I remember. I'm not sure I really wanted to, but I do. 

Everybody's got their broken past. Everybody's got their story. 

I think that growing up being the oldest with a single mother is hard for a lot of people. Seeing Astrid's relationship with her mother at times made my heart hurt because it felt so familiar. (Certainly it wasn't so extreme, but still. There were traces.) In the ways her mother acted around men, her unwillingness to grow up and be responsible, her selfishness when choosing her wants over her daughter's needs. It was painful. But also healing. Healing in the way that her mother redeems herself. In the way that she looks at her daughter throughout the movie. There is love there. And in the end, she sacrifices her own freedom so that Astrid can be free. Broken people hurt others. That's the bottom line. And, we're all broken. (That's what I'm throwing in there.) Her mother was a very broken woman, and I'm pretty sure I believe that she was doing the best she could given that. And I know I believe that about my own mother. My mom is an amazing woman, and a truly amazing mother. I know she has always done the best she could despite her own brokenness. And I know that a lot of the brokenness she experienced came from her parents. It's such a cycle, I guess because we live in a broken world. 

Life is so extreme. It is breathtakingly and unbelievably and truly beautiful. And wonderful and amazing and such a gift. But it is so so painful. It is unbearably painful even to the point of surrendering one's own life just to be free from it. That's so crazy to me. There is so much beauty, and so much pain in life. All in the same breath, even. 

So, because of this broken world, people are broken. All of us. We all are. And, I tend to lean toward the idea that we all do the best we can given our past and circumstances and genetics. Getting back to the movie though, I think it was healing for me to watch it. And probably for the best that I happened to watch it so late at night, because it's when I'm my most motivated- so I felt motivated enough to write about my reaction to the story. 

My mother has sacrificed so much in her life to become a mother to my younger sister and I, and now to my youngest sister. Here's some history. I'm the oldest and she got pregnant with me accidentally, while she was in New Orleans on vacation. She has quite an amazing story, actually. Anyway back home in New Jersey, she made up her mind to put me up for adoption but then changed her mind when she had me. Imagine? She changed her mind. 

At the end of the movie, Astrid asks her mother to let her go and not ask her to testify so Astrid can be free from all the pain her mother caused her. When her mother agrees, and lets her go, meaning that she must continue out the rest of her life in jail, that's just like when my mom changed her mind and decided to keep me. 

From my perspective, I'm so much luckier than Astrid, because my mom sacrificed her life- all her hopes and dreams and freedom- the instant I was born. Everything that has come after has been her trying her very best to love me through all her brokenness. 

((I truly don't expect anyone to read this, and am actually hoping that no one does! I initially started writing this on here with the intention of just saving it as a private post, just so I'd have these thoughts written out. But I feel like posting it publicly will be sort of healing for me. I'm acknowledging some specific pain in my past, and also acknowledging that the source of that pain was just loving me the best she could. I think posting it publicly is allowing me to say it out loud and acknowledge it. Besides, this is a secret blog for the most part. That does make it a bit easier. It's not like all 700 of my closest friends and family are going to read this with their morning cup of coffee! Blah. Tangent.. I'm starting to not make sense anymore. Time for bed. ))

Today, I'm thankful

Working with people who have disabilities really puts a lot into perspective.
Today, I am truly thankful for the life I have been given.
I know it's a gift, and I want to cherish it, never taking it for granted.
I'm thankful for the family I was born into, the love of my life who I get to wake up to every morning, and the community we have found in the Woo.

I'm thankful for my health, and I want to be a good steward to the body I've been given.
I'm thankful for a sound mind, and I want to keep learning and using my knowledge and education to help and enlighten others.


I'm thankful for my youth, however fleeting it may be.

{Photo by my brother in law in Newburyport,MA}