recently

a magical white tulip with a single red stripe.
at maymont.

recently

started a container garden for the summer.
tomatoes, cucs, peppers, so far.
raised from seeds and given to me as little babes by a handsome fella with a green thumb.

grace & glory: spring time in oregon hill

ladies and gentlemen, i passed my thesis defense.

which means i did it. and i will graduate in less than a month. every minute since my defense has felt like a sweet sweet sigh of relief and in the last few days since i feel like i've been finally really enjoying spring in all its lovely.
to me spring feels like one beautiful celebration of the earth's perseverance.







thanks for your support friends.

that's the feeling i was meant to be.

glory szabo. via dirty richmond.

happy spring

head up

iphone wallpaper by dan cassaro.

james vincent mcmorrow

in case you couldn't tell from the recent posts of camera phone photos from my morning walk, i am in the thick of thesis writing/ rewriting. its a a bit intense and hogging my brain during all my waking hours. (and really my non-waking hours too because i'm dreaming about thesis, and editing and the likes.) thus, i've had little time to be inspired and share that inspiration here lately. i decided this morning to share this lovely tune with you, though.
james vincent mcmorrow has been my soundtrack as of late.
the whole album is beautiful.
enjoy.
much love.
L

ps. i'll be back with some camera phone photos of my cat, or something equally thrilling soon enough, dont worry.

this morning

trees in bloom.

billie jean

this is my little calico love.

sometimes she follows me around the neighborhood.

it makes my heart melt.

i love this season

there are so many pairs of birds cooing and chattering at one another in the trees outside my window today. two blue-jays, two doves, two little finch-like pretties.
sounds like love is in the air.

lovbird print from ashleyg, via.

the sea was driven away

“Slightly after daybreak, and heralded by a thick succession of fiercely shaken thunderbolts, the solidity of the whole earth was made to shake and shudder, and the sea was driven away, its waves were rolled back, and it disappeared, so that the abyss of the depths was uncovered and many-shaped varieties of sea-creatures were seen stuck in the slime; the great wastes of those valleys and mountains, which the very creation had dismissed beneath the vast whirlpools, at that moment, as it was given to be believed, looked up at the sun’s rays. Many ships, then, were stranded as if on dry land, and people wandered at will about the paltry remains of the waters to collect fish and the like in their hands; then the roaring sea as if insulted by its repulse rises back in turn, and through the teeming shoals dashed itself violently on islands and extensive tracts of the mainland, and flattened innumerable buildings in towns or wherever they were found. Thus in the raging conflict of the elements, the face of the earth was changed to reveal wondrous sights. For the mass of waters returning when least expected killed many thousands by drowning, and with the tides whipped up to a height as they rushed back, some ships, after the anger of the watery element had grown old, were seen to have sunk, and the bodies of people killed in shipwrecks lay there, faces up or down. Other huge ships, thrust out by the mad blasts, perched on the roofs of houses, as happened at Alexandria, and others were hurled nearly two miles from the shore, like the Laconian vessel near the town of Methone which I saw when I passed by, yawning apart from long decay.”

-Ammianus Marcellinus’s account of
the 365 AD tsunami in Alexandria

via

women you love

collected and drawn by kate bingaman burt as part of a project in honor of international women's day.
love.

via.

i love this season

we got a ton of rain over the weekend. thus, it was a bit grey, but i love those heavy rains right before spring. its just around the corner, i can feel it. tiny green things are starting to push through the dirt and to appear on the ends of bare branches.
i'm waiting breathlessly.

xo,
L

ps. i love the girl in this photo. i totally feel her. sadly, i cant remember where i came across this gem. do you know?

as we tilt back

i love how you can feel the quality of light change at this time of year.
longer days, warmer sun.

signs of spring

march brought first daffodil of the year.

love.

i'm trying to

finding this exceedingly difficult today.
via.

i love this season

for warm sundays perfect for brunch on the porch with friends.
photos via the lovely becky.

i love this season

tea is good. i enjoy drinking it.
(lots of it in wintertime.)

recent favorites include:
morning thunder (my sister introduced us, it has matte added for an extra caffeine kick).
green tea with peppermint.
ginger (my tummy as been a bit off this week, so this is more necessity than preference).
oh and jasmine, always.

what are your favorite teas, my friends?

clever teacup by via.

*i am resisting the urge to pretend the season is already spring. i'd like to pretend that, but since it was snowing this morning and its still february, i figured i'd be honest with myself and continue to think of reasons that winter isn't so bad.

friday and week in review

this week i:

made a heart shaped pizza.
told loved ones how much they mean to me.
made valentines.
saw harry potter at the byrd theater (and loved every second of it)!
danced with friends and supported a friend's new business venture.
wrote a big chunk of thesis and got some tough research started.
pushed myself to take initiative, move outside of my comfort zone, and received positive feedback.
drank tea all week and stayed away from coffee
(my tummy thanks me).
started watching the tudors again (season 3), oh how i missed that drama and intrigue!
reveled in this amazing weather.
helped organized a professional development workshop for new graduate students in our department
(what a great way to reach out and make an impact).
turned down a job opportunity because i'm making other things (happiness) a priority.
pulled out pencils, paints and paper when i felt blue because making something beautiful always helps.
wrote a letter (ok, email) to a close friend who i miss.

happy friday, loves. the weather here is brilliant and spring-like. i'm excited to on go on my first picnic of the new year over the weekend (in addition to thesisizing, of course)!
what are you up to?
xo
L

image via.

sea life

i don't have that much to say about this image, besides omgeeziloveit.
check out corey arnold's work, which captures moments from the artist's grueling experience as a crew member aboard a fishing boat to the bering sea.

via.

word for thought

Sometimes, when we’re lying together, I look at her and I feel dizzy with the realization that here is another distinct person from me, who has memories, origins, thoughts, feelings that are different from my own. That tension between familiarity and mystery meshes something strong between us. Even if one builds a life together based on trust, attentiveness and mutual support, I think that it’s important that a partner continues to surprise.

Barack Obama on marraige and Michelle

at this point i feel that i'm quite a ways away from marriage, but i was moved by his words none the less. i love the idea of still finding mysteries in your partner many years later. so romantic.

via.

i love this season

days when, in february, just as you thought you could take the cold and the grey not a second longer, a brilliantly sunny weekend arrives with temperatures in the 50s. you eat breakfast in the sun in just a sweater, no coat. it warms your heart. and you wonder, has spring come early? and even though you know it hasn't, that you'll have to bear more chilly days before then, it reminds you those dreamy seasons are just around the corner.

Xo
L

*if you can't tell, this is the kind of weather we've been having. its divine.
*also, numbering these posts about why i love winter was sort of depressing me because i'd only gotten to number 5! sheesh. so, i renamed the post. and i like it better now. that is all.
*images via.

writing is hard.

photobooth self-portrait in the library
thesis writing day 1*
2 pages down, how many to go?

*i've been sort of writing/ researching for months, but this day 1 of actual writing of the real actual thesis.

loving recently

hello kittens, this week seem to have taken a decidedly colorful and girly turn. i refuse to think it has anything to do with approaching holiday, but is more a result of my longing for spring...

whatever. anyways, enjoy!

these striking faces and hair styles from fashion photographer koto bolofo. via.

lusting over this beautiful flower shop in brooklyn, saipua.

pretty messy hair inspiration from camp comfort. (lord knows i my hairs need it recently...)

herbs in tea tins. arent they lovely? via.

this post about sofia in paris. can i be her bestie for a day? (preferably the day shes spending in paris, that is.)

this sweet arrow ring, just in time for cupid. via.

xo!

L

word for thought

Presumably one gets involved with this rather peculiar, rather esoteric form of expression because one has had some kind of powerful experience with it- and presumably this powerful experience then makes you want to go on and think about it and learn about it and write about it. But you must have at some point been ravished, been seduced, been taken in.

- rosalind krauss, cofounder of the journal october, art theorist and critic, on the impetus to dedicate ones life to thinking about and learning about and writing about art.

reasons i love winter, no. 4

radiators. some people hate them. i love them.
they are quiet and warm. what could be better on a cold winter night?
and while some antique radiators with layer upon layer of peeling paint may not heat the room as well, they are certainly beautiful.


via.


via.

via.

via.

via.

via.

xo,
L

word for thought

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.
the alchemist

*polaroid taken a few weekends ago driving home from harrisonburg.

reasons i love winter, no. 3

cuddling.

(duh.)

image via.

new york adventures

oh my, apologies for my absence once again.
i ran away to new york last week (to do research on museum tours for my masters thesis) and forgot to mention it to you.
if it makes you feel any better, i didnt tell my parents either. and i already got the lecture. anywho, i visited lots of museums, ate delicious foods, spent quality time with my sister, and got snowed-in in brooklyn.
it was a lovely whirlwind. and ive been playing catch up ever since.
but it was totally worth it, as it always is.
here are a few photos.

snow falling on soho, after visiting the drawing center

portrait in a window

snack

sculpture garden at the MOMA

MOMA

portrait as a grad student

walking by prospect park after the brooklyn museum

morning after the storm

thanks for reading, loves.

xo.