Warrior For Love

I apologize that this blog is dying a slow death. Not my intention, but, you know, life.

Anyway, I'm fairly active on instagram (my social media outlet of choice--I can't maintain enough mental stamina for more than one), so feel free to follow along there for more real-time updates that you don't need, but hey, that's sorta the point, no?

From top to bottom, left to right:

-A snippet from my classroom: 4-year-old art is the best kind of art

-Love notes around the city made me smile on Valentine's Day

-A supermarket bouquet serving as a reminder that spring is just around the corner (bonus: picked-out by my better half)

-Giant ruby red grapefruits to brighten up these blustery, gray, freezing cold days

-Happy heart-prints which incited a student to proclaim, "Ms. Kayla, you look beautiful in that fancy outfit."

-Sunday breakfasts at home. Because, pancakes. (Also, bacon).

/

In conclusion, since I'm sure we can all use the reminder every now and again:

"You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery.  Be a warrior for love." 

-Cheryl Strayed (Tiny Beautiful Things)

Sunday Best

"Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week." 

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For your reading pleasure...

How to be Polite. "The good thing about politeness is you treat people exactly the same. And then wait to see what happens."

The Art of Exclusion, or, how to get your life back.

What French Kids Eat for Elementary School Lunch. (Four courses, served consecutively, complete with table settings, bread baskets and water pitchers).

41 Random Facts About NYC That Will Blow Your Mind. #23: Albert Einstein's eyeballs are stored in a safe deposit box in the city.

A Monet of One's Own. The experience of building a proverbial art collection.

Kiss Someone You Love. A photo/video project.

Happy Sunday. May yours be golden!

Viva Sweet Love

“Sweet spring is your

time is my time is our

time for springtime is lovetime

and viva sweet love

(all the merry little birds are

flying in the floating in the

very spirits singing in

are winging in the blossoming)

lovers go and lovers come

awandering awondering

but any two are perfectly

alone there's nobody else alive

(such a sky and such a sun

i never knew and neither did you

and everybody never breathed

quite so many kinds of yes)

not a tree can count his leaves

each herself by opening

but shining who by thousands mean

only one amazing thing

(secretly adoring shyly

tiny winging darting floating

merry in the blossoming

always joyful selves are singing)

sweet spring is your

time is my time is our

time for springtime is lovetime

and viva sweet love” 

― E.E. Cummings

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

It happened, and now I'm blossom-drunk, wandering around with my head perpetually tilted upward.

The next few weeks are amongst my favorite of the whole year, based on nothing more than how my surroundings look and how they make me feel.

Also, unrelated but apropos to my current state of mind:

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." 

-Mark Twain

Enjoy the weekend, and happy Easter/Passover! We have zero commitments, which feels incredible. 

Breakfast (+ A Few Links)

This is my current favorite breakfast, usually savored on the weekend when I have more than three minutes to prepare it. However, thanks to Passover and Easter, I have two random days off this week and was able to enjoy it yesterday morning alongside a cup of coffee and the howling rain-wind outside. Scrambled eggs, multigrain toast, avocado and sautéed leeks: so simple, so satisfying. I didn't butter my bread because I like having the flexibility to pile everything else on top.

Also, I truly don't understand how food bloggers operate. I was so eager to eat this that I literally took a single photo and hoped for the best before devouring the entirety of my meal. Doesn't the food get cold while they set up and style the perfect shot(s)? Do they throw it out afterwards? Do they actually plan on eating whatever recipe they prepare, or do they prepare the recipe solely for the purpose of turning it into a blog post? Eggs taste the most delicious when consumed as close to exiting the pan as possible (everybody knows this, right?), so these thoughts remain baffling to me.

And now, here's some unrelated mind fuel to accompany the palatable pleasure:

30 Things in 30 Years; "I would rather be in a room full of kings than be king of the room."

A Short Guide to a Happy Life; a particularly lovely excerpt:

"You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are. So I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house....Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes, a life in which you stop and watch how red-tailed hawk circles over a pond and a stand of pines. Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger....Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work."

The importance of Building a Good Name.

This made me cry (especially that last one, with the horse): The Five Days I Fell Hardest For My Wife.
"She is here. She is with me always. I will be alright."

Story time: I Am a Pizza (very wise words from a five-year-old).

//

Happy Wednesday, my friends. Hope you have a terrific day!

Breathe, Stretch, Shake, Release

"There are things you can't reach. But

you can reach out to them, and all day long.

The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of god.

And it can keep you busier as anything else, and happier.

I look; morning to night, I am never done with looking.

Looking I mean not just standing around, but standing around

As though with your arms open."

-Mary Oliver

My classroom just adopted hermit crabs. They're abnormally large and a little bit stinky, but the kids love them and I love watching them love them. I ordered ladybugs, and caterpillars too, because I'm probably crazy, but today marks exactly eight weeks until the end of this school year, so yeah.

I've been lost in my own thoughts more so than usual, thinking about how stunningly beautiful words can be, and how I don't use the especially beautiful ones nearly enough: halcyon, murmur, ripple, quintessential, treasure. My very first post on this blog originated because of beautiful words, did you know that?

I need a haircut. I'm newly infatuated with this lipstick (#030 smitten). This commercial is awesome. This article about coffee is fascinating. And lastly, for today at least, you'll be okay. 

Photos // Summer 2013 // Washington Square Park

(Or, when the earth was lush & green & flower-filled, because we're still waiting for spring over here)

I Want To Believe I Am Looking

Still, what I want in my life

is to be willing

to be dazzled -

to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even

to float a little

above this difficult world.

I want to believe I am looking

into the white fire of a great mystery.

I want to believe that the imperfections

are nothing -

that the light is everything.

-Mary Oliver, "The Ponds"

[Photo: August 2013 // Truro, Massachusetts // iphone 5]

It Is All Comfort

"Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective. It suffices, it is all comfort."
 -Mary Oliver

Plus, a few links to recently enjoyed things:

Eloping in Paris. (I got emotional after watching this and ran upstairs to jump into Tiho's arms).
Would love to take this online flower arranging class later this spring.
Writing About What Haunts Us. Powerful and visceral.
And more on writing (and living): The Art of Being Still.
Simplify the Internet. A bit extreme, but I like it.
A recipe for Whole-wheat orange blossom bread. Yes please.
Baby shoes! (No, not an announcement).
Current favorite blogs: Ashore, One Claire Day, Ché & Fidel, & long-time fave Sprouted Kitchen.

*Photo of wind-blown me taken by T, who is slowly turning into the resident expert photographer over here.

Give & Take

It's been an adjustment settling into the (busy) routine of a new school year, mostly because I've severely cut back on almost all social media outlets due to lack of time. I wish I knew how to spin the clock hands in my favor, but for now, I am grateful for my steadily improving health (goodbye nasty cold and laryngitis!) and falling quick in love with the sweetest batch of three-year-olds ever. I have a feeling we're going to have the most splendid year together.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. It's a long one for me, which is such a treat.
Now, a few fun things:

This is exactly how I feel about facebook, which is probably why I don't log on too often.
A History of New York in 50 Objects. Absolutely fascinating.
I can't get enough of this hilarious site.
You're Already Real.
Adorable art print.

(Recent photos from my instagram stream)

The Way You See Them

In the midst of making breakfast earlier this week, I paused to grab my camera when a glance at the open carton of eggs in the window light made me catch my breath.

"Photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."
-Elliott Erwitt, Advertising & Documentary Photographer

East River + A Few Weekend Links

I'm having a love affair with Brooklyn. Yesterday, I rode the ferry down the east river and spent the afternoon hanging out in Brooklyn Heights & Dumbo before meeting up with friends to enjoy a movie with a view in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Once I upload and edit those photos, I'll share.

For now, I'm feeling the pull of a quiet Friday at home; a little work, a lot of coffee, maybe a nap and a few chapters in my book. We'll see. It's the weekend!

Worth looking into:

If we quit indulging so much, will we feel happier?;
I wouldn't miss Fox TV either (yeah, I said it);
For the love of semicolons;
Nobody tells this to beginners.

(Photos from my instagram stream)

Central Park, Blueberries, Wildflowers & Yogurt With Fruit

The week so far. Can't complain. (photos taken with my iphone and processed with instagram).

"As I have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity. I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs." -Sam Abell, American Photographer

A Table, A Chair, A Bowl of Fruit

There are few things that delight me more than farmer's market sundays in the summer. Except for maybe, heart-shaped waffles piled with berries being given away for free?? (Also, all of those delectable peaches up there for only $3).

*Title quote by Albert Einstein. In full: "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit, and a violin: what else does a person need to be happy?"

Pools of White & Pink Lace

"This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open
pools of lace,
white and pink
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?"

-"Peonies" from New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

The Questions Themselves

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything." -R.M. Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Things I Like, V. 7

A few recent bookmarks and a few that I've been eyeing* for months (ahem ahem, that Pendleton blanket).

1). Striped Pitcher (no longer available); 2). Botanical Postcard; 3). Pendleton Wool Throw;
4). Leatherbound Classics Collection; 5). Quote by Henry Miller via Stitch & Hammer; 6). Sage Green Chaise Lounge

*It took me a couple of minutes to figure out the proper spelling of this word.  Removing the second "e" seemed like the right thing to do but then "eying" looked weird and incomplete. Turns out, both "eyeing" and "eying" are accepted spelling variations of the word. Random fact of the day.

When It's Over

Radiant flowers & a beloved quote. Feeling light today. Hope your Wednesday is a knockout!

Things I Like, V. 5

This collection motivates me to bust out my big-girl artist tools and retrain my hand with a portrait or two. Faces and expression endlessly fascinate me.

1). Luli Wallace Art; 2). Honey Jar & Stick from Merchant No. 4; 3). Beautiful Bouquet photographed by Paige Newton; 4). Original Oil Pastel Portrait ("Julia") by Tush Tush; 5). Calligraphic truth by the talented Masha of Ornamelle.

Joyeux Noel (Plus A Few Blinks!)

This image makes me absurdly happy. (photo by Leela Cyd Ross)

These Books of Art by Isaac Salazar are pretty incredible. (via Swiss Miss)

This Morning Frost Meadow print by Anna Emilia reminds me of the months ahead and how beautiful they can be.

Feeling all kinds of love for this cute-as-a-button Swedish children's shop, Little Studio.

Next year, I'm going to make this beautiful doily light garland.

I agree. (via Brain Pickings)

Mesmerized by these botanical studies from Frances Pelzman Liscio's portfolio.

I saw these in person at West Elm yesterday and had a difficult time resisting the impulse purchase.

 How to make gingerbread cameras.

60 tiny love stories--reading these made me cry. (via Brandi)

Happy, happy, merry merry! It's somewhat mind-boggling to me that Christmas is actually here, and with it, the end of another year. It's been a good while since I compiled a quality list of blinks: hope you enjoy the random stuff that's piqued my interest recently. Peace and love to all.

I leave you with a quote from Hugo. It gave me chills in the theater earlier this week and I find it apropos to the spirit of the holiday: "I address you as you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers."

Weekend, Wussup!

A dapper pink and yellow balloon-holding French man. Loving Love. Comfy kicks. And there you have it--my random brain today.

Rock on, my little sugarplums. Enjoy yourselves this weekend. I'm feeling feisty.

(illustration by Danille Kroll; text by White Hot Truth; shoes by me)