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.

loving recently

these gold foil award stickers. i'm pretty sure we all deserve one. via.

fun textile installations by hannah haworth. via.

instant collections from sushipot. what treats.

this amazing wallpaper, designed through a collaboration between a mom and her son.

rides a bike, a fantastic tumblr of 'movie stars and their self propelled vehicles.' via.

this lovely quilt of the night sky.

word for thought: 2011

so, hello 2011. its nice to meet you and i thank you for allowing me to join in the adventure. i tend to always wait until half way through january before desiding on goals for the new year. (it sometimes takes me that long to wrap my head around things.) this year, instead of a resolution, i've chosen a word. a word that will inspire me, guide me through some challenges, and frame the choices i'll be making.

in short, choosing a word is setting an intention. so my intention this year: purpose. i will take purposeful actions in moving my life forward. instead of floating along on this path, i will take bold steps to move ahead, seek out adventure, and be open to prosperity. i will be more mindful of the way i live my life and take time to enjoy it. i will be mindful and purposeful about the way i think and communicate with myself.

thanks for reading my intention for 2011, friends. (as new age and hokey as it may sound.) do you have any of your own?

i dont know what the image above has to do with anything, but i like it. via.

little zara

is the cutest. i need this outfit in big girl sizes, please.

(i have a serious case of cape envy these days, friends.)

via.

reasons i love winter, no. 2

dusk.

while leaving the library the other evening i was struck by the color of dusk during the winter. at this time of year i feel like its a little more blue and a little more tranquil than normal. as the sun sets an indigo purple light replaces it, foreshadowing the cold night to come. its chilly but lovely.

happy monday, pretties.

i hope your weekends were restful.

xo

L

image by edward olive, via.

day dreaming

i've been thinking a lot recently about dreams and imagination.

someone told me a story not long ago about a man who learned he had only a few months left to live, so he dropped everything and decided to pursue his life's dream. what exactly his dream was, i'm sorry to say, i cannot remember. (ok i realize thats a terrible story, but its not the point.) the point is, whatever it was, i thought his choice was an odd one. but whatever, its his dream. the thing is, it led me to wonder what i would do in his situation. and for a moment, just a tinsy little fraction of a moment in time, i couldn't think of anything.

(maybe i hadnet had any coffee yet?) anyhow, i was dishearted! ashamed! where had all my big dreams gone? where was my imagination?

don't worry, a few seconds later they came flooding back in all their sparkly glory. but the moment left me thinking about dreams, big dreams, little dreams. day dreams. i think as we grow bigger we stop day dreaming as much. we plan. we think of goals. and occasionally we might imagine the future, but not like we used to.

for the sake of my imagination, i thought that i'd make some space for dreaming. so, fridays i'll share a dream with you guys from now on. because, big or little, they're all important, right?

so here goes:

i love cities, i love being surrounded by people, lights, color and energy. yet at the same time, i love the woods, and being far away from everything. (i was raised there, in the country, afterall.) one day, i'd like to return to that world, to live very simply in a little one room cabin in the woods. even if for just a summer. there is nothing quite like being so far away from the rest of the world, and so in tune to the woods around you that you notice every new mushroom, every new spiders web, and know all the animals that wonder by.

happy friday, loves.

hope you have a lovely weekend and do a little dreaming of your own.

thanks for reading,

L

images via.

ghandi says

via.

loving recently

leaf carvings, can you believe that detail and fragility? via.

this salvaged collection of dressers and drawers.

this letter from keith haring to a fan.

this friends of type typography blog, via.

these lovely mugs with a surprise ending by Ange-line Tetrault. via.

this beautiful short film about the sarorialist. via.

*as mentioned monday, i'll be starting some regular features this week. wednesdays will be a mash-up of beautiful or inspiring things i've been loving recently. enjoy and thanks for reading, friends.

word for thought

“I’m often asked the same question: What in your work comes from your own culture? As if I have a recipe and I can actually isolate the Arab ingredient, the woman ingredient, the Palestinian ingredient. People often expect tidy definitions of otherness, as if identity is something fixed and easily definable.”

- artist Mona Hatoum, in beyond east and west: seven transnational artists.

*as i mentioned yesterday, i'll be introducing some regular features this week. on tuesdays i'll simply be posting a quote, a passage, or idea that i've come across recently and found interesting or inspiring. a little wisdom for your tuesday, perhaps. i imagine it will most often have to do with art, inspiration, or mindful living, because those are topics that interest me, but maybe i'll surprise myself.

thanks for reading.

L

image: marble carpet by mona hatoum.

the good life

hi my pretties. the last week flew by as i've attempted to get back to reality and get the ball rolling on this whole thesis thing. as i do so, i made some goals for the new year and the new semester, which i intend to share here once i get a chance, (i know its already the 8th, but whatevs! my blog, i do what i want!) but i'll tell you this, most of them focus on the idea of being more purposeful about the things that i do.

living a more mindful life, you could call it.

anyhow, i tell you this because one thing i've been thinking about is being more purposeful with this blog. i've decided to start some regular posts. basically a few topics i'll write about each week. i hope this will help me to be more purposeful about blogging, and in life in general.

so, without further adieu, let me tell you about the first of these regulars, which i will be calling the good life. basically, i've also been looking for ways to think more positively about things that i may not always think positively about all the time, winter for example. as a floridian transplant in virginia, (where people like to pretend that it doesn't get cold but it does! it really does!) i dread winter and complain too much about the cold. but, i've decided that can change. so, i plan to explore all the ways that i could love winter! what good things can i say about it? that is the challenge i'll be rising to every monday by posting one good thing about life during this season. i hope it will encourage me to be on the look out for the positive all week long. and to continue this trend even when the weather warms.

maybe you can try it too friends?

so here it is, the first of (many) things i (plan) to love about winter:

1. the excuse to dress like a bag lady. i wear so many layers at this time of year! i have no shame! i pile on sweater over sweater, tights under leggings, leg warmers, arm warmers, scarfs, hats, coats, everything, one on top of the other. and in my mind i assume that its totally legitimate, and maybe all that pattern and color even is a bit fashionable, ( like the parisian beauty above, perhaps? yes?) and most importantly, necessary, because being cold makes me grouchy and mean! on days like today i look down and realize that i am completely dressed from head to toe in layers upon layers of varying shades of grey. and thats just fine because its winter!

so there. thanks for reading my friends. you can look forward to more reasons that i love winter, and more regular posts in the future!

image via the sartorialist.