Haha. Love it.

Vocalo

Sometimes my Story of the Day is right on.

Beautiful People

I have a friend who reads people's auras. He sees all sorts of colors like green & red & purple. He says anyone can do it. All it takes is forgetting everything you think you know & just looking. I've tried it & even though I haven't seen any colors yet, everyone I meet looks so beautiful when I stop knowing everything, that it's pretty hard to go back to the old way.

Storypeople

Homemade cookies at work when I'm the ONLY one here on a Saturday?



Disastrous.



Also delicious. But mostly disastrous.

Oh I hope it snows this year.

via this

I'm so tired right now, but my mind is racing a mile a minute which means I'm wasting time on the computer. (Side note, whenever I spend too much time staring at my screen, I hear Greg Kinnear's voice from "You've Got Mail" saying, "You think this machine is your friend but it's not!" and I become weary and ready to curl up with an honest-to-God, made-of-paper book.)

But before I do, tonight I stumbled across some old photos taken with the phone I had during college, and there are some surprisingly decent (or at least nostalgic) shots. Trip down memory lane, anyone?

November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.
Emily Dickinson



(pic via wili_hybrid)

"When I'm done, you'll look like a tree."

I always forget how much I love the opening credits from "Funny Face."

with all big decisions come a heavy dose of self-doubt. it's even begun affecting my choice for breakfast, as if choosing cereal over a bagel will toss the world into an irreversible tailspin.

but sometimes breakfast is just breakfast.

and sometimes any change is good change.

right? right.

There's been some unfriendly neighbor drama on Maple Street this week, which makes me want to give this a try. World peace, one city block at a time? It just may be possible.

via David Horvitz

Currently obsessed with finding my Christmas present

Look at that basket! Swoon.


This shiny lady would be mine today if she was a bit larger. Curses on my long legs!


This vintage beaut is for sale. And more than a tad out of Santa's price range.

Do you love your bike? Do you have any ideas of where I can find the perfect two-wheeled companion? As I prepare for my move back to CHARLESTON (!) I find myself excited about the tiniest things. Such as bagels with mozz from Bull Street Gourmet, movie dates at the Terrace, and biking my way through the gorgeous brick campus every day.

(Thanks to Becca and Ben for pointing me in the right direction about Mixtes!)

Never Mind the Pity

Oh fall. You arrive, the leaves barely begin to change, and then (before a girl can say, Isn't fall grand??) the leaves billow down in yellow sheets. Sitting by my dark window tonight, I cannot tell if I'm hearing rain or falling leaves and acorns. Autumn is loud and powerful and quiet and quick and leaves everyone wanting a little bit more.

(Across the street from my office window is the most glorious red and yellow tree, and its leaves are all pooled around its base and all I want to do is throw on a scarf and jump right in, creating a colorful chaos. If you are similarly inclined when you see large piles of fallen leaves, we should be friends.)

What will you be for Halloween?

Whatever it is, I hope you have more fun than this tiny witch. The three little piggies are planning to have a raucous weekend in the capital city full of parties, dancing and face paints. I love Halloween!

Happy Trick-or-Treating!

steve chasmar's flickr

I adore this lovely Italian's pretty style.

via The Sartoralist

Tuesday night = Not as productive as I planned, but at least I remembered to breathe.

Perhaps I'm still running on leftover zen from my New England weekend. Lovely leaves tend to have a lasting effect on me.

State of Disarray.

You know it's auction week when your office looks like this.

(ps - In the Cola area on Thursday? Come out to 701 Whaley to party and buy fun things. I personally promise that you will have fun.)

Ominous clouds in my Gmail mean rainy fall days ahead.

So much better than those old history text books.

A pretty history refresher for your Friday afternoon from Maira Kalman.

the prez at the dairy godmother?...
holy custard, batman.

too bad he was one week too late for the out-of-this-world tollhouse cookie flavor.

let's feel good for just a moment.

my saving grace on sticky summer carolina nights.

my soul sings me.

Pretty album cover. Pretty album.

(Check it out. Especially the cover of the Decembrists' Shankill Butchers.)

I'm just not a cat person.

I learned that this week. With the most precious, sweetest, friendliest kitten ready and willing to adopt me, I only kept her for a night before finally admitting to myself that through and through, I am a dog person. If a pound-and-a-half of pure gray kitten softness can't win me over, there's not much hope that it'll ever happen. At least I know that I'll never be the crazy cat lady, right?

This week's other lessons include the rediscovery that a bit of yoga each day is essential and addicting (how did I walk away from it for so many years?), that writing letters I'll never send (while cliche) is an extremely effective way to begin moving on, and that my new Brita filter is one of the best $2o I've spent in a while (I mean, clean cold water on demand? In the weeks before I give in and turn on my ac, this is priceless!)

I've been so preoccupied with my circumstances, my responsibilities, and just "getting through the week" lately that I've lost focus. My goal for the upcoming summer months is to regain the focus I once had for my future, whatever that turns out to mean. But even more than that, I am trying to focus on the numerous things in my life I currently take for granted: the way the moonlight pools around my pillow on clear nights, the easy jokes with my favorite coffee shop server, how my hair shines shines shines as I drive - sunroof open - under a canopy of tall oaks on my way to the water...

Green thumb.

While I was at home this weekend, I couldn't get over my parents' lawn. It's an electrifying green color and the grass is thick and the hills beg to be rolled down. It's exactly how I remember the grass while growing up, but I think I convinced myself that my childhood memory had fictionally enhanced the alright, just so-so grass that I've seen in recent years past. But oh man. This lawn is begging for a game of touch football and firefly catching and bare, dirty feet.

Last week I finally bought myself an orchid, something I've wanted for years but just recently acted on. It's tall and graceful with four bright blooms that just so happen to match the new "plum seduction" nail polish on my toes perfectly. It's no sprawling yard of soft grass, but it still grounds me in a way that brings my mind back to "one step at a time"...

Inhale.
Exhale.

Please God let it rain again tonight.

i'm so close to remembering why i love what i love that one more gentle nudge in the form of a 5 a.m. downpour would surely bring me back...

(more posts, of a less-vague nature, to come soon. cross my heart.)

Our volunteer in the office this morning spent her time making bright origami butterflies for the staff. They are lovely, and a nice break from the calendars and to-do lists on my dull gray wall.

In other news, I'm off early tomorrow morning to scratch that persistent travel itch once again. Across the country to a new city to visit some old and not-so old friends. Deeeelightful.

Let's hope not.

via gouliard : via imgspark

Things in this picture of which you should be jealous:

`Beeeautiful Valentine's Day tulips, reveling in their afternoon shade.
`HUGE mug of green tea with mint, my new fave.
`Extremely quaint view from my front window, complete with waving neighbors (not pictured) and my ornate garden chair.
`Zooey D. crooning at my heart (also not pictured).
`Using my day off to buy a large stack of new books and being able to begin each of them while following the sun as it passes through the different rooms in my house.

A girl like me could get used to four-day weekends...

Oh C'monnnnn.

If you like love, sign this.
Think of it as a Valentine's gift to humankind.

a thing so simple

via Skirt! (via John Clark)

I swear that I'll actually write something here again one day. But I love these sharpie and book page creations from John Clark. Deeeelightful.

Fresh pepper?

via eb (via nyt)

Laughing. Out loud. At my desk.

It's official.

My longing for the iPhone has turned into full on lust. I just spent my lunch break learning about all the marvelous things this one tiny gadget would add to my life. If only I didn't have all those pesky other bills like rent, electricity, car payments...

With Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and my Birthday all coming up oh-so-soon...any secret benefactors in hiding out there?

"I like these cold, gray winter days.
Days like these let you savor a bad mood."

Bill Patterson

My what a big bow you have.

via Paste

bwahahahahahaha! love. it.

Today I've used far too many exclamation points.

But it's Inauguration Day!!
And Obama is now PRESIDENT!!
And it snowed in SC today!
Bright, soft, fat flakes!!
So how in the world can I not be excited?!?!!

I'm practically a walking exclamation point today.
And it feels goo-ooo-oo-ood....



(i spent a good amount of time gazing at the falling flakes today, and letting them fall lightly on my nose first thing this morning, but did not capture any pictures. luckily other people did. mmm mmm snow.)

you celebrate chaos.

i LOVE this movie.

This is what happens when I can't sleep.

This is my "Mosaic of Me," which I happily stumbled upon at the SCOOP. Want one do ya?

Answer the following 12 questions about yourself
(my answers are in parentheses after each question):

1. What is your first name? (erin)

2. What is your favorite food? (pasta)

3. What high school did you attend? (hanna)

4. What is your favorite color? (leaf green)

5. Who is your celebrity crush? (cary ann hearst)

6. Favorite drink? (coffee)

7. Dream vacation? (new zealand)

8. Favorite dessert? (chocolate)

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (happy)

10. What do you love most in life? (laughter)

11. One word to describe you? (learning)

12. Your Flickr name? (each good rain)

Type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr's search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker.

This is going to seem like a great use of time when my alarm wakes me up a few hours from now...but so pretty, right?

photo creds:

1. THE OLD BOG ROAD (NO 3) (Mar 21, 2008 #424 EXPLORE) KILKENNY, IRELAND., 2. Shell pick 'n' mix, lightly arranged, 3. Hanna, 4. Against the Colors, 5. Day 123: Cary, 6. coffee & the city, 7. One of each, 8. there's nothing better than summer, 9. Perspective Matters (1483 unique and cool people count this photo as a favorite), 10. Laughter In The Rain, 11. Moon / Luna, 12. There are different wells within us. Some fill with each good rain, others are far, far too deep for that.

The disposal of a year.

Copying birthdays, throwing out old notes, reliving the year in 52 short flips. The shiny new 09 calendar seems to laugh at my worn and bulky 08 calendar as they lay side by side. But as the weeks pass from page to page, 08 begins to stand a little taller, realizing the crucial experience it has that the newcomer does not. 2009, so far, is all business, while 2008 may be bulky and worn, but is bulky with laughter, worn with emotion. A tough year, no doubt, but with beauty tucked in if you know where to look. And then, in late July, a simple scrawl claiming the weekend for "excitement!" I still can't quite remember what the excitement was, but in that moment I realize that despite our disagreements, power struggles, and disappointments in each other, 2008 and I had an alright run after all.

Oh 2009. I've got my coffeepot (resolve #1: no more diet coke), fancy new pens (resolve #2: keep writing writing writing), and a few jokes up my sleeve (resolve #3: stop taking everything so daggum seriously). Perhaps a bit of glamour will find its way in as well...