this might just be the best thing...of the world

i've never ever really wanted to do ballet. even as a little girl, it wasn't my thing.

but i would've LOVED to do some other sort of dance.

modern, maybe?

i would've liked to have been a dancer in the crowd.

so when i saw these pictures...

the gallery is called Dancers Among Us

yes. i would do this. if it were physically possible.

she looks so happy!

such ease...

snow dancing!

if you're gonna feed the birds, do it right.

yes. 

even graceful dancers have to go to the bathroom sometimes.

too cool. i like his boots.

"yep, just waitin' fer the bus."

at least she can enjoy doing laundry.

he's got places to go and people to dance on...no...wait...

yes. if you can do that, please pay the cab driver that way.

it will make his day, i promise.

just a little leg lovin'. 

gene kelly?

I want this room.

{via Bloesem}

Those shots of color against that grey wall are incredible!

I want a room to decorate. NOT my bedroom. 

The attic ceiling is just too hard to work with, although I think I could do something really cool with it if I had the supplies (i.e. money). I'm picturing soft white wainscoting, a sea-ish green-ish textured wallpaper on top, charcoal grey neutrals to balance out (such as rugs, furniture, etc), and spots of vibrant orange, deep turquoise/teal, and a few points of yellow (but not too much, 'cause yellow is overdone these days).

I wish.

March is here.

Eleanor Green loves Anthropologie's new spring collection. 

So much so that she is baffled into talking in third person about her incredible love for it.

She will now wipe the drool off the keyboard...

 

 go to her room...

 

and say, "I will not lust" three hundred times.

beams of lustage are shooting forth from mine eyes.

::sigh::

Chuck---

on one hand...you inspire me...and for that, I love you.

on the other hand...you make me wish for Spring to come...and for that...

you're not helping any.

In your face, silly adulthood inhibitions!

 

I don't think I was ever really eccentric when I was young. I don't ever remember going through a stage where I didn't really care what people thought of me. 

 

That's sad. 

 

But I always catch myself thinking, If I were more quirky, I'd to this. If I went to a different church, I'd wear that. If they wouldn't think this, I'd try it.

 

I'm deciding that that kind of thinking is not for me anymore!

I will do it! I will wear that crazy outfit and dress up even if no one else is! I will wear those bright pink tights and that white, huge-sleeved top that have been hanging in my closet for so long! I will go skipping through the parking lot when there is a convenient wind! I will ride the carousel in the mall!

I will be the kind of adult who expresses herself in the way she wants and doesn't concern herself with what other adults (or non) might think (in a caring, nice sort of way, of course).


This isn't to say that all those resolves in my previous post have gone out the window. Never fear! This is just one of the steps toward becoming that zesty, self-confident adult that I talked about.

just wait till summer...

i'm planning an Up escape.

~we'll float just below the clouds and listen to Saltwater Room~

~we'll watch the patchwork world move past below us~

~we'll chat with some birds and make friends with the sun~

then...

~when we're ready to come down, we'll land on a cheery hill and put down our own patchwork~

~we'll turn our attention to the clouds we were just getting cosy with~

~we'll take a long walk down the hill toward the brilliant lake and watch the shadows grow up~

~we'll find a sailboat and go winding into the middle of nowhere~

then...

~when it's dark, we'll come back to solid ground and find your pickup~

~and while it turns Herbie and drives itself, we'll lie in the back on our patchwork~

~we'll shut out everything but the sound of the crickets and the wind~

~and when we end back up at the top of the hill, we'll climb into our little house, loosen it from its birch tree mooring, and float back up to sleep with the stars~

~we'll go somewhere only we know~

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

"Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds).

Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects."

i had to change the title of this post because a few people freaked out at my choice of words in the last one.

today i interviewed a sweetly mcgee girl.
most of you know her.
she is beatrice.
and she has a very cool blog.
and some seriously rad mental chickens.
and she gets out of bed on the left side.


me -- what is your idea of perfect happiness?
beatrice -- in my head i picture it sometimes, and it's beautiful... married, with happy children running around our woodland cottage catching fireflies in the twilight like sprites in pom-pom hats, as mysterious-future-husband and i sit on the porch and shell peas.

me -- what is your favorite food to snack on while you study?
beatrice -- if i'm feeling healthy, frozen corn or an apple... unfortunately, though, i normally go with Twizzlers or chips (BBQ... i know, i know, they're guy chips. sorry. :) )

me -- what is your most treasured possession?
beatrice -- the beautiful antique wedding ring from the 40s that my Grandma Bruce left me.

me -- what is your greatest fear?
beatrice -- hmm... snakes. oh, and leprechauns (due to a horrific viewing of Darby O'Gill and the Little People. SCARY MOVIE!). oooh, and being deserted. so, i guess my biggest fear is being deserted by all my loved ones after i failed to ward off a herd of angry snake-throwing leprechauns.

me -- what is your current favorite song?
beatrice -- I Don't Know, by Lisa Hannigan. she's so authentic, and her music is amazing!

me -- which talent would you most like to have?
beatrice -- either Jazz piano, unicycle riding, or tap dancing skills. because those would be awesome!

me -- name one of your style muses and what it is about her that inspires you.
beatrice -- any way you could reword that? 'cause i don't like everything about any one person's style... but i could give you three people who each have a specific reason.
me -- go for it.
beatrice -- one: Chuck from Pushing Daisies, for her adorable retro put-togetherness. two: Maggie Gyllenhaal, for her amazing style weirdness and subtle fearlessness. three: Zooey Deschanel, because... just because. she is amazing.

me -- what do you value most in your friends?
beatrice -- their unbounded and unbridled compassion, love, and devotion... and the ease with which they show it.

me -- if you could go anywhere in the world and live there for a year, completely immersing yourself in the people and the culture, where would you choose to go?
beatrice -- i'd go to the Czech Republic. Odd as it may sound, that culture and language has always held an inexorable fascination and enchantment for me, and i would love to get to know it better. it's such an odd mix of Polish, German, and Portuguese influence.

me -- what motivates you? it can be a verse, a saying or quote, or even just a thought or idea.
beatrice -- i am motivated by this incredible life God has given me... by the speed of it, by my own need to find all of it and understand God by experience His gift and His creation. life flies by so fast, and i've just figured out that the speed isn't meant to be scary, but to be exhilarating, exciting, like a carnival ride. i want to use every day and every second for adventure and the sparkle of life.

so there you have it.
one small glimpse into her mind, and i'm sure you're hooked already.
there ain't no way you ain't checkin' out her blog.

7 degrees of George Grant

I've been lusting after color this week.

Color and shoes.

And tights.

I think I need to go shopping. Shopping heals all wounds.

Well, almost all wounds.

photos courtesy of...somewhere. i can't remember right now.

Elephant vs. Donkey, Mugwump vs. Gratis Dirt Clod

Did you know that one of the presidential candidates in 1948 was named Strom Thurmond? And to add to it, this distinctive individual was a Dixiecrat. Did you know there was such a thing as a Dixiecrat? I didn't.

While we're on the subjects of presidents, today is Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. What a man. There will never be another one like him.

And while we're on the subject of what happened on this day, I'd like to announce that it is Cranky Co-workers Day. Kiss a cranky co-worker!

Addendum: Also among the parties and factions within factions that have entered America's colorful political glossary is the Mugwump party, the Greenback and Goldbug parties, the Freesoil party, and the Green and Grassroots parties.