feeling schmoopy* (yes, schmoopy).

dear readers, for some odd reason i am feeling incredibly lovey-dovey today. i have no idea why. maybe it's the amazing fall weather we're having (highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s--unseasonably cool for florida, even in late october) or the fact that the holidays are fast approaching. either way, i want to hug everyone. and so today i thought i'd introduce a little featurette that i'm just going to refer to as "love letters." every so often, when feeling the abovementioned schmoopiness, i'll retype one of my favorite literary love letters for you (a la that wonderful scene in sex and the city: the movie that featured beethoven's "letter to the immortal beloved").

anyway, we're starting with one of my all-time favorites: captain wentworth's letter to anne elliot in jane austen's persuasion--which is also one of my all-time favorite books, period. here goes:

"i can listen no longer in silence. i must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. you pierce my soul. i am half agony, half hope. tell me not that i am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. i offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. i have loved none but you. unjust i may have been, weak and resentful i have been, but never inconstant. you alone have brought me to bath. for you alone i think and plan. -- have you not seen this? can you fail to have understood my wishes? -- i had not waited even these ten days, could i have read your feelings, as i think you must have penetrated mine. i can hardly write. i am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. you sink your voice, but i can distinguish the tones of that voice, when they would be lost on others. -- too good, too excellent creature! you do us justice indeed. you believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating in...f.w."

are you feeling schmoopy now, too? tell me, what's your favorite love letter?

see you tomorrow, my lovelies. xo

*ganked the word "schmoopy" from some post on this lovely blog.

{ image above from here, first spotted on {this is glamorous}. }

cute blog alert.

are you all familiar with the blog what i wore? i'm a little late to this party, too, i believe, but i stumbled across it the other day and think it's so cute. the author, jessica, posts pictures of herself in cute outfits and writes about them, as well as dishes out fashion advice. i'm a sucker for street-style photography blogs (um, hello, sartorialist), so i'm really loving this one right now. above is a peek into jessica's closet; below she's wearing one of my favorite outfits thus far.


{ all images via the lovely what i wore }

kitchen love.

um, so tell me this isn't the cutest kitchen ever. i am loving the pink and red dots, the letters that spell "eau" behind the sink and the general cheeriness of the space. in fact, maybe i should buy some dot decals and copy this look in my own teeny-tiny house.

and while we're on the subject, what fun fall foods are you whipping up in your kitchens? i'm having a sweet potato moment, and giada's baked sweet potato fries with garlic-mayonnaise dipping sauce are at the top of my recipe list. seriously, seriously delicious.

{ image via door sixteen by way of marie claire maison }

monday morning eye candy.

just a little beginning-of-the-week prettiness for you--mrs. french's work has already made the blog rounds, but i couldn't resist posting a few of her beautiful images. not only does she pen (er, type?) an inspiring blog, bliss, but the images above can be purchased in her etsy shop. that lightbulb photograph has my name all over it...

how were your weekends? i hope you all have fabulous mondays! xo

p.s. um, saturday is november 1. that is crazy! where did october go?!

{ images above from here }

survey for a thursday.

my loves, i’ve been a horrendous blogger lately and i’m so sorry—my life has been full to the point that i just haven’t had a moment to sit down and write. i am reading all of you, though, and i’m going to try to get back in the swing of things for next week.

for today, though, i present you with a little survey. i was tagged by the oh-so-lovely alison of dear alison and am super-happy to oblige. (full disclosure: i am a secret survey lover, so i was thrilled when i saw alison’s tag.)

anyway, that being said, here goes—i’m not going to tag anyone, but please, please, please fill this out yourself, if you’re so inclined, and link me! oh, and if you want to read alison’s answers—or her blog—click right here.

1. i’ve been a vegetarian for four years now, and i really don’t miss meat at all.
2. when i was little, i used to want to be a voice for a disney character (ariel was—is—my favorite; my grandmother used to make me sing “part of your world” to her when i was growing up. and by the way, i still do it in the shower).
3. i want to live in new york, san francisco or paris for at least a year of my life.
4. i’m a leo, although i think i have a touch of cancer in me, too. i really like being the center of attention, though, even if i pretend i don’t. (and speaking of astrology, the tarot.com ‘scope google uses for its igoogle homepage is freakily accurate—at least for me.)
5. if i could max out my credit card at any one store, it would be anthropologie. can you tell?
6. speaking of finances, i tend to live a little outside my means. but for right now, that means i have a fabulous time (although it’s not good when i get down to having $1 in my checking account—yes, that actually happened, and embarrassingly enough, it was fairly recent. you can expect a finance post soon.)
7. i’m having a total pop moment right now and am obsessed with beyonce’s “if i were a boy” and leona lewis’ “better in time.” also, on the opposite end of the spectrum, i’m really loving ray lamontagne. check him out if you haven’t.

happy thursday, my darlings! see you tomorrow…xo.

{ image above, of j.crew creative director jenna lyons' amazing dressing room, via dominomag.com }

loving: sculptural shapes for fall.

fall is officially here, my loves--i felt it in full force this weekend. the humidity disappeared, the thermometer dropped and the air was crisp--in other words, the weekend was pretty much perfection.

i spent friday night at dinner with some girlfriends, then got dressed up and headed to the ungala gala at the ringling museum courtyard on saturday night (for work, mind you). the ungala, a black-tie event, is the kickoff to sarasota's social season, and people--women especially--really go all-out in terms of attire. i saw some gorgeous dresses, including a stunning, sculptural, navy-blue oscar de la renta that was seriously awe-inspiring.

now, i certainly can't afford an oscar de la renta dress, so i was excited when i popped over to the anthropologie web site today and saw that a bunch of their new pieces are sculptural and detail-inspired, as well--much like leanne's final collection for project runway (side note: how glad are you that she won? she was my favorite from the beginning). below are a few of my favorites; that blouse on the left is really calling my name.

what are you looking forward to wearing this fall?

{ image via anthropologie; cropped and resized for this blog by moi }

food for thought.

my dears, this passage--which i rediscovered while rereading anne of avonlea the other day (hello, youth)--is a pretty clear indicator of the woman i aspire to be. and i thought i'd leave you with it today.

"she held over him the unconscious influence that every girl, whose ideals are high and pure, wields over her friends; an influence which would endure as long as she was faithful to those ideals and which she would as certainly lose if she were ever false to them. in gilbert's eyes anne's greatest charm was the fact that she never stooped to the petty practices of so many of the avonlea girls--the small jealousies, the little deceits and rivalries, the palpable bids for favor. anne held herself apart from all this, not consciously or by design, but simply because anything of the sort was utterly foreign to her transparent, impulsive nature, crystal clear in its motives and aspirations."

isn't that lovely? just some food for thought for the weekend. the anne series was one of my favorites growing up--what was yours?

have a wonderful weekend! see you monday. xo

p.s. if you're looking for something super fun to do this weekend, i highly recommend kayaking. i did it yesterday, out on gorgeous sarasota bay, and i swear on everything holy that there were wild dolphins right next to me and the person i was with. incredible.

{ light-filled image above via {this is glamorous}. }

sartorial wednesday.

how much do you love-love-love this photograph? it’s via the sartorialist, of course, and it makes me want to hop on my (nonexistent) bike and go for a spin around downtown sarasota. also, this lovely lady’s outfit is pretty much perfect—the shoes! the tights! the sunglasses! the classic trench coat! the pretty patterned skirt and sweet top! i have serious outfit envy right now.

i’ve been meaning to buy a bike for awhile now and this makes me want to do it that much more (and add a basket to it, to boot). perfection, seriously.

are you all bike riders?

economy of language.

my loves, i should have had my fingers glued to my cell phone this weekend—and all last week, for that matter. i am so glad i have unlimited text messaging with my plan, because i was a texting fiend! and since i’m fascinated with all things word-related, it got me thinking about the art of the text message.

while i’m really hesitant to compare texting to poetry (sorry, but substituting “u” for “you” does not compare to reading e.e. cummings), there’s something similar about the need to pack a certain level of meaning into a few brief lines. on my phone, for example, i have 160 characters with which to get my point across—and if i’m texting to a boy i’m interested in or someone i don’t know well, i feel like the pressure’s really on. i want to be concise but not curt; friendly but, again, not overly wordy.

and i know—in a lot of cases, it would probably be much easier to just pick up the phone and call. but—and i think this is because of what i do; i’m a writer and editor—i tend to place a lot of emphasis on the written word. (also? i’m a little bit shy, so texting is a lot easier for me.) there’s something so deliberate about choosing a word of the right length and meaning to fit the text message that’s being composed, almost like putting together a puzzle. again, it's the economy of language.

so, tell me: how much do you guys text? do you find texting easier than calling? what’s the best text you’ve ever received? are you as fascinated with the evolution of our communication styles as i am?

{ images above by artist ginger via joanna goddard’s glamour.com blog, smitten—she wrote about the art of the romantic text message a few weeks ago, and these photos were too perfect not to include with this post! }

happy, happy friday!

i know i’ve been a bad blogger lately, but there’s been a lot going on. so i’m going to take the weekend to have fun and will be back on monday with something substantial!

until then, take a look at this great fuschia peacoat from old navy (yes, old navy). it’s $90, but i’m sure it will go on sale within, like, two weeks—and i’ve pretty much decided it’s going to be my new winter coat. an empire waist and cute pockets? yes, please! i’d pair it with a sleek black sheath dress, opaque black tights and these gorgeous michael kors heels. hello, lover.

what are your plans, my dears?

xo!

{ image above from old navy. }

today...

...is about throwing open the windows and letting in the light (literally and figuratively).

how are your wednesdays, my loves? mine's been pretty happy so far.

{ image by moi }

ring-a-ding-ding.

my love of elephants is well-documented on this blog, which means you can imagine my happiness when i spied this jeweled elephant ring ($178) on the anthropologie web site. it’s a statement ring, i know, but i’d just love to prance around with it on my finger. (and apparently it’s a popular piece, because it appears to be on back order until oct. 25.)

a much more budget-friendly, and equally cute, option is this owl ring from fred flare (only $14!) that i spied on cupcakes and cashmere today. my elephant love is rivaled only by my owl love—i really enjoy this.

how do you guys feel about statement jewelry? i really like lots of long, layered necklaces and big cocktail rings. and unlike some of my friends, who much prefer white gold to yellow (i felt that way for a long time, too, honestly), i think yellow gold can have an awesome vintage vibe to it. what’s your preference? share!

{ images via anthropologie and fred flare. }

survey for a monday.

1. clothes shop: anthropologie, j.crew, target (the new jonathan saunders line is super fun), gap and old navy (for basics), and thrift stores (especially for jewelry). plus, sarasota has some great independent boutiques on main street that i love to pop into whenever i get the chance.
2. furniture shop: ikea and again, thrift stores for great vintage stuff.
3. sweet: mm, dark chocolate.
4. city: new york has my heart.
5. drink: water, coffee, green tea, margaritas.
6. music: a really eclectic mix. i’ve been listening to jimmy eat world’s futures again lately—i think it’s because the title track has such a political edge. also, a little regina spektor, a little john mayer, coldplay, copeland, corinne bailey rae, some michael buble…like i said, random.
7. tv series: the office. grey’s anatomy. pushing daisies. project runway. gossip girl.
8. film: amelie is my all-time favorite; waitress is probably my most recent fave. oh, and i got sex and the city: the movie from netflix and watched it pretty much all weekend…yay!
9 workout: beach, bay, blog.
10. pastries: cupcakes or really good chocolate chip cookies.
11. coffee: grande skinny iced vanilla latte from ‘bucks, or—if i make it at home—whole foods breakfast blend with some silk french vanilla creamer and a touch of agave nectar to sweeten. yum!

now, dear readers, please fill this out yourselves and link me or leave some interesting factoids about yourselves in the comments! happy monday, my loves!

{ image via {this is glamorous} }

happy friday + some really cute dresses.

i was reading joanna goddard’s glamour.com blog, smitten, this morning, and was immediately—ahem—smitten with a sweet yellow dress from sotto boutique that she posted on thursday. adorable and perfect for a first date, no?

anyway, that post got me thinking about other cute first-date dresses, so i perused the selection at sotto and then clicked on over to bird —one of my favorites—to look at their dresses. here’s a little round-up of my favorites—date dresses are kind of appropriate going into the weekend, right?

{ clockwise from top left: mayle; mina perhonen (this one’s a bit fancy—perfect for dinner at a nice restaurant, i think; rachel comey (this is my favorite—i’d pair it with a brown belt and flat brown boots like these from loeffler randall); and vena cava, all from shopbird.com. }

speaking of the weekend, i hope you have a wondrous one, my loves. see you back here on monday! xx

october, oh, october.

hey, guys—i’m sorry for the super-sporadic posting this week. i’ve been recovering from a cold (yay, advil cold & sinus) and insanely busy with work and stuff. i’m so glad tomorrow’s friday—i need a weekend!

anyway, i looked at my cell phone yesterday and was totally shocked to see that it said oct. 1. i mean, yes, i knew yesterday was the first of october—but when exactly did september slip away? it’s now really, truly, officially fall.

so in the spirit of a new month—and my love of lists—here’s just a few reasons why i love october:

+ halloween. need i say more? (also: are you guys dressing up? and if so, what are you going to be? i need suggestions! also, is it sad that i kind of want to be a princess so i can create a costume around these fabulous pink and green bcbg shoes that i saw?)
+ pumpkins. they’re so orange and jaunty.
+ soups and squash.
+ scarves and tights.
+ the fact that we’re that much closer to thanksgiving and christmas.
+ gorgeous weather—highs in the 70s and 80s, lows in the 60s. perfection.
+ open windows at night.
+ new people and the start of sarasota’s social season.
+ time change. an extra hour of sleep? yes, please!

what do you guys love about october? and please do tell me your halloween plans—i know it’s a bit early, but i want to hear!

{ pumpkin polaroid by flickr user sea wolff }