tying the knot, heading to the hitching post

Tomorrow evening my warm, beautiful, and wonderfully talented friend Jessica will marry her incredibly kind, handsome, and hardworking fiance Aaron who absolutely adores her.

And all will be right in the world.

I mean, really, you should see the way these two look at each other. It melts my heart every time.


my auntie marg and uncle ed


I might as well tell you the love story behind Auntie Margaret and Uncle Ed. I just learned it not too long ago myself.

Auntie Marg was my grandma's sister. She met and married a handsome man named Norm and soon gave birth to a son and then a daughter. The daughter, Norma Jean, died as a young child, from what might have been, my Grandma believes, leukemia. A few years later, Norm dies of a heart attack, leaving his son Jimmy fatherless and Auntie Margaret a widow.

Completely heartbreaking.

Enter Uncle Ed. Uncle Ed had been in love with Auntie Marg since they were young. He just never told her. So when the time was right, he made his move.

Can you imagine, seeing the girl you love get married, then never marrying because the only one you'd ever loved was taken? And then the one she marries dies? Like, how long do you wait to pounce?

Uncle Ed got his girl in the end. And they were marvelous together. I think Uncle Ed made her heart whole again. Just look at how cute they were on their wedding day.

myself, kelsey, & sam
Celebrating Kelsey's twenty first on Tuesday.


Kelsey was my roomie in Paris. I've been waiting for two years for her to turn twenty one so we can go out in California like we did in Paris.

Tuesday did not disappoint.


Gearing up for an amazing weekend! Wedding stuff for the next few days, a Sunday bbq, and hopefully, a hiking trip ending with ice cream.

music for your Monday

So today's music is from Sara Jackson-Holman, whose first album is releasing tomorrow. I've been listening to her myspace music page all week and can't wait to buy the entire album. There's not really too many videos of her out there, so just go check out her myspace page!

My favorite song is Into the Blue, but they're all excellent!

a dash of this and a pinch of that

Before I move away, I'm going to collect my favorite recipes from
my mom, my grandma, and my cousin Holly (who makes extremely tasty desserts).

I think these recipe cards would be the perfect way to display their culinary genius.

From Rifle Paper Company.

the prospect of summer

It's so close. I can feel it coming.



This summer is going to be crazy awesome.

Barbecues. Road tripping to Southern California with my old roommate from Paris. Watermelon stains. Lazy days in the hammock. Hikes. Rafting down the American River. Sundresses. Driving across the states to move my friend to Florida. Bicycle rides. Planning and then flying out to Austin for a surprise bachelorette party. Open windows. Picnics. Music Circus with my parents. Air dried hair. Saying goodbye to old friends and meeting new ones. Moving.

Can't wait.

there's no place like home

I really love coming up our driveway after a long day. There's nothing better than seeing the fields stretched before you, the red barn in the distance, and all the beautiful leaves waving their hello in the breeze.



One of the things that relaxes me most is strolling down the driveway to pick up the mail. It's always been my time to reflect and enjoy the silence. Last week, after picking up the mail, I was walking back up the driveway when it occurred to me that once the fall rolls around, this simple pleasure that I have enjoyed since childhood may no longer be mine to keep. And then I realized that after this summer, I might never live here again.

What an odd mix of emotions that came after that moment.

Excitement for the unknown, a sadness that was near crippling.

This is what I know. This is my home. This is my kind of beauty.

I can only hope, dream, that one day my children will appreciate the home I have built for them as much as I love the home my parents provided for me.

music for your Monday

laura marling from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

Look at that air.

Just another reason to adore Audrey.



found here.

just because.

I love transitioning from winter to summer.







all images via The Sartorialist.

music for your monday

Love the song. Love the video.

And the crazy thing? I was standing there at Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower exactly one year ago today. Funny that I came across this video this afternoon.



So that means that a year ago yesterday, my best friend got married.



















all photos, except my jumping ones, are taken by Studio Cabrelli in Paris. And just so you know, the photographer looked dead on like Mr. Bean.


jumping outtake

mon mere

mom and I circa 1987


I've never had a friend who measures up to the friend my mother is to me.

She listens to me rant.
She holds me when I cry.
She sings in the kitchen with me.
She is the first person I want to tell things to,
big feats and insignificant little things,
like discovering Walgreens now has the body wash I used in Paris
but couldn't find when I came back to the states.

She's my best friend.
And I couldn't love her more.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

A few weeks ago I was snooping around on Kate's gorgeous blog,
The Goodie Life and stumbled on this post about Ork Posters.

I

was

in

love

and immediately had to see what the San Francisco poster looked like.

Partly because I'm all about good design that revolves around representing awesome places, and partly because I really wanted to know where the Tenderloin was. So I can avoid it.

I spent a few minutes (okay... weeks) debating over which color to get.

Then yesterday, I came home to find a cardboard tube sitting, waiting for me on the dining room table.

And this is what was in the tube-





Pretty awesome, right?

So head over to Ork Posters and find a city near you.

Or far away. It doesn't matter.

frugality sucks.

I don't even know why I bother visiting Anthopologie's website. It only leaves me with a puddle of drool and lustful thoughts.





All from Anthopologie's website.

I'm that person.

You know. The one who only wears light pinks and nude colored nail polish because then it's less obvious when it starts to chip off.

Which, in my mind, is quite brilliant. Though some might see it as lazy. Or boring.

I'm also the kind of person who doesn't invest in nail polish remover. The person who just paints over the last five layers of polish.

Today was monumental though. I bought new polish. Non neutral polish. Polish dubbed Tart Deco and Peach Daiquiri. Although I'm not quite sure where they got peach from. It's really hot pink.

Just thought you'd like to know.

A few years ago, while waiting for a class to start, in my flip flops, toes exposed, this cute boy asked me what color my toenails were. I thought perhaps he's colorblind. "They're red" I said. "No, what's the name of the color?" "RED." "No, no. You know how every nail polish color has a name, like... Ruby Red, or Summer Bliss? What's the name of your nail polish?"

Oh.

I felt like I didn't deserve to be a girl. Apparently it's a requirement for girls to know the name of their polish. I say it's still red.

Speaking of toes. My first semester, my first week at Sacramento State, I took the light rail into school to avoid the parking pandemonium. That only lasted a few days because of my many encounters with the interesting citizens of Sacramento. Take, for example, James. James was enamored with my feet. He walked by me. Then passed by again. By the fourth time he stopped to talk to me.

"You have beautiful feet. Are you a ballerina?"

Umm... what??

He proceeded to talk to me for the next, oh, ten minutes while I prayed for the train to come. He talked about his life ambitions, about Sacramento, about how there should be a magazine solely devoted to, get this... AIR. He talked about my feet. Then, as I was getting on the train, he told me that the next time he came through Sac that he wanted to feed me.

Feed me??

So I told him I probably wouldn't be hungry when that time came and got on the train as quick as I could.

Anyways, now my toenails are tangerine colored.

That's right. I'm livin' on the wild side.

Which makes me think of the last time my toenails were orange. The summer before seventh grade. Is it weird that I remember that?

I had bought BRIGHT orange nail polish, so bright it might make your eyes burn a little, painted myself up, and headed to a luau. I still have the photo. Can I just say, my hair was gorgeous. WHAT HAPPENED? It had all these beautiful natural highlights and didn't have all the little kinks and waves it has now.


But that's besides the point. Wait... what was the point?

music for your monday

Umbrellas by Sleeping at Last.



you were meant for amazing things