Limbo

These beautiful images of Passing Notes looked so fallish and lovely, I thought they were a lovely way to start the post :) Found via Brown Turtleneck Sweater.

I think being in limbo can facilitate a number of different feelings. It can frustrate the hell out of you. It can push you towards passiveness and apathy. It can make you melancholy. Even depressed. It can also move you towards great introspection. I think all are valid, and I think I've experienced them all in the course of a few weeks this autumn. Andrew's in the process of the typical 2L (second year law student) autumn. He's applying and interviewing for his second summer's internship, which, if all goes well can easily turn into his post-graduation (3L) employment. We have a number of feelers out and there is potential for a lot of different situations. If you throw in the possibility of starting a family (hoping, hoping, hoping), me doing a career-overhaul, and some major moving around, you'd get the picture. It's strange, I'm not changing jobs/locations any time soon, but the very nature of law school has you planning significantly into the future and I can't help but feel like I'm in limbo. I'm thinking about what's next, for us as a family and for me personally. Right now at at the introspective stage. I'll be creating a lot of lists. I have no doubt!

Well, to celebrate today and the feeling of anticipation (or "limbo-ness," however you want to put it) I'm doing a Give-Away! This summer I created two little hard-cover journals, one with beautiful fluer de lies and the other one with Japanese red lanterns. Each will come specially wrapped with hand-stamped tags. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post :) Easy! I'll announce two winners on Friday!

Success!

Success! I am not a domestic disaster. I'm not a lost cause when it comes to apple pie. We went apple picking on Saturday, collecting at least 30 pounds of Cortlands and Red Maxes. Then Saturday afternoon I pealed, cored, dusted, and baked my way to a mostly successful apple pie. I used the collected wisdom gathered on Friday and used one of Martha's recipe and made it my own. I think I had pie for lunch, dinner and breakfast this weekend. It was delicious! Of course it wasn't pretty, and the crust was a little heavy on top. And I probably will remember to use lemon juice next time and not so much flour. But, it was fun!

By the way, this is Susie and I trying to decide if the apples we were picking were Cortlands or MacIntoshes. We ended up deciding that the MacIntoshes were just a figment of our imagination and the signs were lying to us and they really didn't have MacIntoshes anywhere in the orchard.

Friday Favorites

one: encircle by DreamsandJewelry
two: Apples by elmstudios
three: Cassandra dress by annafabo
four: Clara loves a fruity fragrance, by kwilson544

A fairly low-key Friday. I'm not quite twiddling my thumbs, but things are coming in at a pace I feel like I can enjoy the day. Tomorrow we go apple picking! It's time for MacIntosh apples, my ultimate favorite. And I'm determined to get some good baking apples for my umpteenth time trying to bake an apple pie. I'm sure I've mentioned this in the past, but my apple pies end up looking lovely but tasting soggy. Yeah, applesauce pies are my specialty. Any advice?

Nothing Something

I stumbled upon Nothing Something a few years ago in search of New York graphic design examples. I was surprised by the dark sophistication of their site and their design. It's haunting. Even the music is moody.

Just a few random bits and bobs :) Lula Boutique is jazzing up her blog and adding new scrumptious pieces to her shop. Mrs. French is adventuring out by creating a shop for her beautiful photograph prints ('bout time :)! Yasmine has a free download here! And Wunderbug has finally added some new office supplies to her shop--perfect timing!

Anyone else have anything to shout out? I'm all ears!

Office Beauties

Hello! Yesterday turned into one of those rush, rush days, so I wasn't able to stop by and say hello to many of you, dear blog friends. Hopefully today will settle back into pleasant, boring routine *grins* and I'll have more time to visit!

I believe it was beautiful Seleta that sparked my renewed interest in office/studio spaces with one of her posts last week. I remembered that one of my ultimate favorite offices was Lovely Design's. The way she decorated and organized her space was both charming and beautifully efficient. I loved it! I'm posting photos found via Apartment Therapy. Also, the office supplies were some of my favorites from Paper Source. I'm a firm believer in the fact that you can never have too many office supplies. Pens and paper and folders abound in the recesses of my closet. I like pulling them out and just soaking up their utilitarian beauty! Psycho, I know.

Gucci and the fidget

I've been fascinated with Gucci's Fall/Winter ad campaign since I opened up the August Vogue back in July. I think that's where I saw it first. They give you a whole different feel for "flower child." I like it! I love the soft, warm colors. The leather and the velvet. It's luxurious!

Andrew had a very lovely birthday--thank to all of you who sent him birthday greetings, he read them all with relish :) You guys are great!

I'm not sure if this happens to you, but after a trip like I had last week, I can't help but feel an anxious fidget in my seat. I get this fidget to move, to change scenery, to shuffle things up to see what surfaces. I blame it on the amount of moving I did growing up. In the past, when I felt this (and couldn't move) I would go cut my hair or move the furniture around. It helped. For a little while. I'm feeling it today, like a knawing question "what's next!" So much is tied up with where Andrew finds a job after school, two years down the road. And that not knowing is where the fidget lies. I'll probably head home and reorganize my closet :)

New Hampshire

Well, hello there! Alas, the New England travelers have returned. Albeit travel-weary and crusty. It felt so good to sleep in my own bed last night. We had so much fun! Manchester, Concord, Nashua, and Portsmouth - New Hampshire is lovely. I have to say, Portsmouth was my favorite, hands down. Actually, all of these pictures were taken in Portsmouth. We walked Long Beach on the Ocean, collected shells, ate fresh sea food, drank coffee in their little cafe's, and soaked up the fall colors! I can safely say that we sampled the deligths of New England!

Also, today's my Andrew's birthday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!

Lounging

It was probably one of the more restful weekends to date. Andrew and I did close to nothing this weekend. And it was pure bliss. Okay, maybe not "nothing." We still went for walks, went on a date night, complete with dinner and a movie (by the way, Burn After Reading was a hoot--you can't beat Brad Pitt's highlights), grocery shopped and vacuumed, but somewhere in there we got in heaps of reading, a nap, a proper lie in on Sunday, at least half a dozen cups of tea and some definite lounging. Lounging is a great word. It helps you picture the comfy clothes and slippers, doesn't it? It even helps you picture the lethargic movements of two sleepy bodies shuffling from bed to couch, from couch to kettle, from kettle back to couch! What did you guys do this weekend?

We have two days left before we fly out to New England. I get so excited just thinking about it. I promise to take pictures!

Images from House Beautiful

Friday Favorites

1: Caged from hownowdesign
2: Blooming Vine scarf from fray
3: Thread print from Emmalynne
4: Silk Leaf necklace from cricketpollo

I'm looking forward to this quiet weekend. A weekend full of little things. Like sewing a book together. Taking a walk. Drinking hot apple cider. Sleeping a little bit later than usual. I feel like the older I get the more I crave my hermit hours, or days. I like stretching out in the comfort of my solitude.

Autumn Rain

Today I walked into work with a soft autumn rain sprinkling on my umbrella. I don't understand how it happens, but when it rains, soft and sweet, a divine scent rises from the earth and sidewalks. It smells like Fall. Or it smells "refreshed." Or it smells "sweet and earthy." Or maybe you can just nod your head in understanding :) I searched through all sorts of images to find ones that expressed such an autumnal rain and I found Kirstie Cohen. These are the magical landscapes of Scotland in the fall. Perfect!

Andrew and I are slowly getting geared up for a trip out east next week. It's part business, part research, and part pleasure. Well, I should say most of it is pleasure, regardless of the reason we're traveling there, being in New England is divine. We'll be in the northern reaches, near Manchester, NH and Portsmouth. Does anyone have any special spots near there I should definitely check out?

British gents

John Hurt. Bill Nighy. Sir Ian McKellen. And fabulously elegant and decked out British gents (just because). Need I say more? *sighs* I could swoon, Phil Poynter does an excellent job. I'm a big fan of British movies and British actors. It's the accent, and the history. And the fact that they can pull off the tweeds and straight pants (trousers) like non other. I studied abroad in Birmingham, England, five or six years ago (for a whole 9 months) and loved almost every minute. There is something about three months of rain that I couldn't quite absorb. But, I fully immersed myself in the tea, the "brellies," the history, and the culture. Andrew and I will put a British flick on and I'll immediately look at him with puppy eyes and ask "when can we go back?"

Also, I had to mention on a side note that for the first time in months, one of my Red Otter journals made it to the front page of the Etsy site! I was tickled pink--it's such a beautiful treasury!

Monday morning blahs

I'm having one of those Monday mornings where words escape me. I type and type and it comes out all wiggly, or silly. That usually means I start writing lists, but I can't even do that right :) So, help me out today! Tell me what your ultimate favorite part of the weekend was!

By the way, the jewel tones in the pictures above are a delightful boost to the Monday morning blah's by way of Domino magazine.

Friday Favorites

one: Fern sachets from lottahelleberg
two: Two barn owls by hadleyhutton
three: piquant blanc from labokoff
four: A story book necklace by whiletheplay

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

A poem from Emily Dickinson on the subject of autumn. It's Friday and again I'm relieved. It was a short week, but for some reason it feels like it's been a full-fledged, jam-packed, squish-me-with-responsibilities type of week. Andrew's been wading through his first week back to school, his second year of law school, so it's been a very full week for our little family. Some transitions can be delightful and beautiful, like the transition from summer into fall, but often transitions are coupled with a bit of angst and discomfort. Strrrrretchhhhhhh. Can you feel it? For all of you who are going through moments of stretching right now, I wish you a beautifully relaxing weekend, full of recouping and enjoyment!

XOXO

Vogue India

With a heavy dousing of rain, summer has officially ended and autumn is upon us. *poof* And with that said let me give you a quick tour of Vogue India's fall fashion for 2008. I didn't even realize that Vogue had an India issue. I'm fascinated! I love all the rich earthy colors and delicate designs. These fabrics just float around their figures.

So, I was going to write something about the fact that I'm a true northern girl because I love cold weather, I like rain, I love the layers, mittens and hot cocoa. I was going to say that I loved being able to add layers instead stripping down to the bare necessities. But, then I realized that that's not completely true (Andrew would laugh right about now). I do love autumn and all of it's pleasures, but I'll miss summer and it's "stripping down!" What will you miss about summer?

School

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who commented on my Friday post! Andrew read it and said something "Oh! You did a real post!" Meaning, I wrote something from the heart, something "real." It made me smile. You all contributed to the post, adding your wisdom, your thoughts, your input! Happiness is tricky. It's more than just a magnet on your fridge or a sentiment in a card. You added to my happiness, affirming my thoughts on the subject!

Today is the first day of school for the kiddos here in Madison. I used to love the beginning of school each year. I loved the feeling of a fresh notebook and newly sharpened pencils (still do, actually). I loved the way my new school clothes felt, stiff and fresh! Of course, during college, this would be a week of intense syllabi-overload, complete with cold sweats and shaking :) But, I loved that too, in a weird way. I was always more productive at the beginning of the school year, invigorated by the amount of stuff to do. In memory of the delights of school starting, here are a number of my favorite school supplies from Broadway Paper!

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful day off :) Of course, if you're like me, I take these days to catch up, which, to the average Joe, doesn't look like relaxing. I cleaned out the car, did three loads of laundry, ran errands, took pictures of my books, and thought up new designs for a work invite! Whee! However you spent the day, I hope it was a good one :)

These images are from the photographer Debi Treloar