cute.

cat + baby = too much cuteness for one photo.

(Photo from Erica's blog)

Amazing wedding dress + reception

I just love these gorgeous bride's flowy grey wedding dress, and her reception seems the perfect combination of kick-back and elegant. After the ceremony (held in the bride's parents backyard), the bride and groom and all their guests walked to the end of the street where a tent was set up with the most beautiful hanging lights. Swoon.

P.S. Aren't those backless dresses to die for??

Photos by the talented Ashley Garmon

happy summer.

Well hello there, friends. It has been so long since I've blogged that I feared I wouldn't remember how to log in. But, today marked the end of a busy school year and I am soo happy to say that summer is finally here. Whoo hoo! As an added bonus, Johnny and I leave for our California adventure in a week. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to catching up here and with my favorite reads. xo.

Photo via we heart it

have a lovely weekend.

Even though I've been a very bad blogger yet again this week, I wanted to quickly wish everyone a delightful weekend. I'm so wiped out from the week, and Johnny is working a lot this weekend, but my mom is coming in town so I just hope to have a good time relaxing and staying warm. Happy Valentine's, lovelies. xoxo.

photo by so annie waits

amy stein.

These images come from photographer Amy Stein's series entitled "Domesticated." As the title suggests, Stein takes a look at human life set against nature. Aren't these images fascinating? I discovered her work over at the Harvard Gazette, and wish I could go see this exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. (Side note: Just a few short months ago, I lived a good ten minute walk away from this museum. Sigh. Cambridge, I'm missing you. . .)

(Photographs by Amy Stein, via the Harvard Gazette)

baby love.

Oh my dear. Look at those legs!!

photograph by Ben Oh

grace kelly.

Timeless, simple grace at its best.

Found thanks to the new to me (beautiful) blog Aubrey Road

linda pastan.

Here's a poem from one of my favorite poets to start off your day, my dears.

In Another Country

--Cernobbio, Sunday Morning

The trick is to leave yourself behind,

to disguise yourself

in the unselfconscious body

of a woman you always meant to be,

to sip a glass

of prosecco in the sun

like sipping the sun itself.

I pluck the petals of a dozen daisies and always get

the same answer; but here

where language consists

not of words but of syllables of music,

no answer matters.

There are only flowers.

There is only the lake, concealing

in its blueness and drowned

gates of that first vineyard.

And we are still locked safely in,

the wine somehow alive

in every glass, our tickets home,

like the angel's final summons,

no more for now

than the mother of beauty.

--Linda Pastan

(Photograph by the very talented Abby)

sartorialist crush.

Oh, how I adore this look. Those platform lace-up shoes are awesome with the black tights and the largeness of her coat is great. Who says you can't look completely fabulous all bundled up?

Photo via the Sartorialist.

oh, anthro.

The images in this month's Anthropologie catalog are so beautiful. After I finished flipping through the pages, I wanted to rummage through my closet and get rid of half my clothes, plan a fantastic trip somewhere far away, and then go get her adorable haircut (but it would look terrible on me).

Which leads me to my question: does anyone else have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Anthro catalog every time they look through it? Sometimes after browsing, I end up feeling like my life is so unglamorous, so unfashionable, and just so un-put together. It's a little bit of a life meets fantasy meets reality conversation every time. Gosh, it's embarrassing to admit that. What is it with this sense of unrealistic envy? However, at the same token, I suppose that's part of what makes these pages so great-- they're like little slices of a dream. And I just have to learn to slap myself a little each time after perusing. . .

'cause everybody else is.

Generally speaking, I'm not the hugest fan of New Years resolutions. It usually feels like a giant trap to me (when really, it should be freeing, right?), and I meet goals better when they come sporadically; however, what I do love about the New Year is that it offers a space of time to think and reflect over the past year, and always gives a little glimmer of hope toward the months ahead. So, even though I might break 'em, I'm going to make a little list to try to stick to, because some of these goals are really necessary for my overall sense of health and balance (P.S. Check out Abigail's resolution. I really adore it.)

1). Get more sleep. On a consistent basis. Seriously. This is one of my largest weaknesses, and now that I'm waking up even earlier for teaching (like 5 A.M., people), I must make it a priority to go to bed earlier.

2). Sign up for a month of yoga at a local studio (baby steps).

3). Drink more tea, and less coffee.

4). Spend less time on the internets. This is another major weakness of mine. At the same time, I want to blog more and read just as much as I do on the interwebs, but I really need to avoid internet "time suckage." It's evil and makes me turn into a crank.

5). Make soup weekly. Because nothing beats a big pot of soup on the stove in the winter.

What are some of your resolutions, friends?

Photograph by Jennifer Causey. Check out the recipe for the soup above here.

red barns and snow.

Note to self: whenever you begin to curse the snow this winter, think of what life would be like without red barns surrounded in white.

Happy January, snowbunnies!

Photo 1 , Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4.

happy new year!

Hope each of you have a cozy evening--whatever you end up doing. I have a friend in town and our plans are still up in the air, of course. I really want to just stay home with a cheese plate and wear a giant sweater. We'll see. . . Either way, here's to 2010, friends!

photography from topalumbo's photostream (found via Rifle Design)

cheese plate.

When I saw this picture, I just about gasped aloud. I love the look of this cheese board with a whole piece of pomegranate, nuts and pine. I know we're nearing the end of the holidays, but this would be a nice idea for anyone throwing a New Years party. I'm filing this idea away for next year. . .

P.S. Last night at the market, my mom and I saw this beautiful wreath decorated with whole pomegranates. I love this idea and wish I had a picture to show you-- it looked delightful.

P.P.S. Avocado and pomegranate dip. Yum!

sartorialist crush.

The photo of this lovely chick taken in Sydney makes me want just one day of summer. So pretty.

Photo taken by the Sartorialist.

socks.

Oh, how these photos from the incredibly talented Elisabeth Dunker make me swoon. I really hope to get some lazy couch time filled with books, old movies and cozy socks this week. . .

(found via You are My Fave)

a nyc holiday.

Well hello, friends. I've been out of touch the past few days because Johnny and I have been traveling along the East Coast. We managed to make it to NYC successfully amidst the snow storm, and beforehand, stopped in Boston to catch up with dear friends. It was delightful to be back, and to spend time with some of our favorite people. On Sunday, we took the train up from Boston to NYC and the snow made for such a scenic trip. We had so much fun frolicking around the Village on Sunday night (and had the best brunch ever at this place yesterday morning). Johnny's family got into town last night, and we went out for pizza and then came home and played two heated rounds of Yahtzee. Whenever I'm here, I'm ready to pack my bags and move (even though I really do think Chicago is the best).

I'll be checking in again before Christmas, but wanted to wish each of you a very merry little holiday season. May the days ahead be filled with love, merriment and loads of simple joys. xo.

photo via samantha

nina on "one simple joy."

I sing in the car. Every single day.

I commute to work about an hour every day, and even when I'm so tired I can barely get out of bed in the morning, I sing at the top of my lungs to something (really, anything) on the radio. Always.

After such a long time doing this, I barely even notice it (so much so that whenever other people are in the car with me, I have to remind myself to shut up.)

I think singing out loud every day in the car probably sounds silly, but it's truly joyful. Don't get me wrong...I can't sing. I'm a terrible singer. But singing alone, and loudly, in a private space where no one can hear me, well... it's become one of the favorite parts of my day.

Every once in a while I get self conscious when I catch the driver of a nearby car smiling and laughing because it's so obvious I'm having a party in my car. But most of the time, it's a simple, unabashed, truly energizing kind of joy.

And the truth is... in my head, I sound awesome. So, what's not to love? :)

--Nina of naturally nina (who I wish I discovered sooner when I lived in Boston!)

*photo of nina and her fiance taken by andunlimited photography

simple joys.

One of my simple joys these days? Sipping hot cocoa, with Christmas music in the background, of course (even though I'm totally with Rebecca that hot tea is best).

Lovely readers-- thank you so much for chiming in and reading all of these heartfelt simple joys offered up from incredible people. There is only one more post left, and is definitely worth tuning in for later today. . . xo.

photo from dykiert

rebecca on "one simple joy."

I never used to like tea, and detested coffee, instead picking a frothy hot-chocolate or a tall glass of steamed milk with a spoonful of honey when a hot drink seemed appropriate.

Between school and university I travelled to Madagascar with a volunteer group, an exotic, wonderful, exciting island that I fell in love with, but far, far from home. Strange creatures, luscious plants and the constant rolling sound of the ocean, a far cry from scruffy urban pigeons and the hum of traffic.

But there was tea in abundance on offer and I think part of the reason I began to drink it was as a symbol of the familiar. Even when my team were based in the remotest of villages, camping each night under the sprawling Milky Way, we would wake to two large thermos flasks, one of thick, dark coffee, the other of vanilla scented tea. No milk, so we used canned condensed milk instead. I drank mine so incredibly sweet, adding a spoonful of rough, caramel coloured sugar to my tin mug in addition to the condensed milk, that it was almost hard to recognise it as tea, but it was the very fact that it was tea I was drinking, however weak and sugary, that seemed to bring me closer to England, to home. On the days when it rained, fat, persistent drops that made sleeping bags damp and fingers and toes cold, tea and a game of cards under the plastic awning strung between trees were what the group bonded over. From someone who never drank tea, I came back to England loving it.

University cemented this love. Lots and lots of tea was drunk. Late night mugs to keep me awake as the words in reference books turned into thin black squiggles and swam before my eyes, early morning ones gulped quickly before rushing off to lectures or to rowing practice on the frosty river. Tea drunk with friends, in warm, softly-lit rooms as rain fell on the grass outside and the college ducks came out to play, or in tiny cafes hidden down side streets between lectures.

Tea when visiting friends up North, stronger than I'd like, but welcome after a long journey. Tea on a Saturday morning, made by M just the way I like it and brought to me on the sofa with the papers as weak sunlight shines in through the windows from a low winter sun. Tea as the backbone of the working day, making friends out of colleagues and providing a welcome break from the harsh computer screen. Tea at Women's Institute meetings from ornate teacups, stereotypical perhaps, but why not? Tea made with jasmine flowers, brought back from China by friends just returned from travels, drunk in a South London sitting room, the delicate fragrance transporting us elsewhere.

Tea on so many occasions from the mundane to the memorable, soothing or reviving as required but always providing a few simple moments of pleasure.

--Rebecca of tea cups, cupcakes (who was kind enough to join us all the way from Britain!!)

*photo taken by Rebecca