take me away from all that i am.

it's turning out to be a week, with a capital w. i'm really busy with all kinds of projects and feeling a little stressed and a little wanderlusty on top of it all. do you ever have those moments where you just kind of want to drop everything, move far away, and get away from yourself--and everything you know--for a little bit? that's sounding kind of good to me right now. san francisco. new york. paris. my grandparents' front porch, 10 years ago, watching fireflies dance in the warm summer air. i'm not an escapist, i swear--i just feel like i need something different, and i'm not quite sure what it is.

ever have moments like that? (say yes.)

{ photo via hither and thither, one of my new faves. }

tuesdayed.

thin on words today (mostly because i've been totally tuesdayed. and am tired). back tomorrow, i promise.

until then,oscar says hi. and so do i.

{ photo by me }

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, everyone! what are you doing this weekend? i'm looking forward to an action-packed couple of days: my aunt linn is coming to town, and we're going to paint it red. i'm hoping we can shop, lounge, dine, kayak, hit the beach and--above all--laugh a lot. no matter what we end up doing, though, it should be good times.

and speaking of painting the town red, thinking about doing that got me thinking about little black dresses, so i did a little etsy search and found the photo above. seriously, how great is this little 1950s number from 13 bees vintage? there's something about the lines that just makes it feel so fancy. love it. (p.s. 13 bees has tons of other great, well-edited stuff, too, so be sure to check it out.)

here's to a fun summer weekend! i probably won't be posting on monday, because aunt linn's here through that afternoon, so i'll see you back here on tuesday with a new "committing to..." as always, thanks for reading. xoxo

sweet dreams.

yesterday was an insane day for me. i woke up at 9:03 a.m. (i'm supposed to be at work at 9) and felt completely off-kilter for the whole rest of the morning. needless to say, all i wanted to do was crawl back in my bed, sleep for a few hours, and re-try everything again later. so you can imagine my reaction when i saw the images above.

holy awesome find, batman. have you heard of holley & gill? holly at decor8 posted about this etsy shop the other day, and i am in love. i got a new bed last year, and the headboard--which is in desperate need of repainting or reupholstering or some other sort of crafty activity--is leaning pitifully against one wall. if i owned one of these gorgeous headboards, that would so not be the case. love. (click here to shop and fall in love.)

passion for fashion.

happy hump day, everyone! we are officially halfway through the week--how have yours been going so far? mine's been great, but busy--although that also means it's going by fast.

anyway, in continuation of my etsy love this week, i wanted to point you all toward nikita jade, a fabulous vintage shop. i found the sweater-coat, pictured above, there, and i'm pretty much in love with it (stupid florida heat). wouldn't it look perfect with a black scoop-neck tee, super-skinny dark jeans, and flats? i'm picturing a little audrey hepburn-esque hair action, as well.

nikita jade has lots of other great items--the dresses are particularly awesome--so be sure to click over and check it out. oh, and you can read the shop owner's blog (again, one of my faves), right here.

p.s. speaking of fasahion, any j.crew lovers out there (like, um, me?). my friend kate is selling a pair of this season's camden leather brogues on ebay--she loves them but needs to go a half-size smaller. they retail for $250 but she's selling them for $85 (!). click here to check them out.

more etsy love.

happy tuesday, everyone! how are your tuesdays going? i am looking at a super busy week, but one that should have the payoff of a great weekend. and in keeping with yesterday's commitments, today i'm bringing you another of my favorite etsy shopowners: australia-based catherine campbell, owner of my folk lover.

back in january, i bought one of catherine's calendars, and i love it. i swear the illustrations get better every month, and once the year is over, i think i'm going to chop off the calendar portion of the paper and create a series of little framed prints. i love the detail and colors and creativity in catherine's work; to purchase some for your own home, click here--i'll know you'll enjoy looking through her shop.

{ images via my folk lover }

the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, everyone! did you have a great father's day weekend? i did. i spent time with family, saw toy story 3 (which was excellent, i highly recommend it--definitely not just for kids), ate too much cake, and slept in. and now--once again--it's monday, and the start of a new week and new projects and new goals!

and speaking of new goals, here's my list of things i'm committing to over the next seven days:

+ posting my favorite etsy-ers/independent shop owners for you every day this week--starting with rachel of elephantine. rachel, who is based in seattle, creates beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that make perfect gifts--for yourself or for others. she also writes a fantastic blog that is one of my daily must-reads. click here to check out elephantine--i'm positive you'll love rachel's work as much as i do.

+ getting my apartment in ship-shape for my aunt, who is going to be visitng for the weekend, and my brother, who is considering moving to sarasota (!!) and probably staying with me for a bit.

+ taking a long walk at least one night this week. yes, it's hot as you-know-what here, but the 2.5-mile trek i did almost every night through the fall, winter, and spring. plus, it's staying light later than ever. and hey, that's what showers and air conditioners are for, right?

+ continuing to cut back on the caffeine. i did really well last week (yay!), and i want to keep up the momentum through this one.

+ making these banana muffins. and this smoothie. yum.

and you? what are your little goals for the week? any favorite etsy shops (including your own!) you'd like to share, as well?

xoxo!

{ images via elephantine }

what are you doing this weekend?

happy saturday, everyone--sorry it's been quiet around these parts the last two days; there's been lots of work stuff going on, and lots of things to plan for this upcoming week. how did your weeks end? are you having a good weekend so far? please tell me, and i'll see you back here on monday with a weekend recap, a new "committing to...," and a week of posts dedicated to some of my favorite etsy-ers and independent shop owners. i'm looking forward to sharing with you!

xoxo

{ beautiful art by betsy walton, via design*sponge }

tea time.

lama designs is one of my favorite online shops. it's colorful and fun and the items for sale are always so cute (see: this teapot with a cold). so when i was browsing the kitchen and tabletop section (my favorite part of any store, frankly) the other day and came across these sweet teacups, i knew i had to share. 

and when i read the product description, i knew even more that i had to share. hand-drawn by irana douer, a buenos aires-based artist. much of irana's work is based on the feelings of women, particularly the oppressed, whose circumstances force them to hide from the world. "though their grief is strong," the description reads, "irana likes to think of her subjects as having the spirit to keep going and never lose hope. this gift makes a thoughtful, expressive gift to a strong woman in your life."

isn't that just lovely?

{ photos via lama designs }

good karma.

i just love this, and was reminded of it by one of my favorite people: 

karma repair kit: items 1-4.

1. get enough food to eat, and eat it.

2. find a place to sleep where it is quiet, and sleep there.

3. reduce intellectual activity and emotional noise until you arrive at the silence of yourself, and listen to it.

4. 

{ richard brautigan, 1967}

{ love-love-love this photo, via for me, for you }

the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, everyone! how were your weekends? mine was great: i spent friday night bowling and hanging out with one of my my friend t.; saturday relaxing and then heading to a wedding (to which i wore the shoes in the photo above), also with t.; and sunday relaxing some more, rearranging the furniture in my living room a bit, and tooling around town with my lovely friend k. (hi, bonesy!) 

in spite of the wedding, it was a pretty uneventful couple of days, but i did get to catch up on sleep, which was super awesome--especially since i'd resolved to be better about that last week. i also watched the glee finale several times (yes, yes, i'm obsessed) and performed several glee-themed concertos for oscar (medleys of "faithfully" and "don't stop believin'," with a touch of "bohemian rhapsody" for good measure). have i mentioned that i would be happy to sing all day and all night? no? well, i would, and this weekend reaffirmed that. ha! 

anyway, it's monday now, and that means it's time for a new "committing to..." so here are the little things i'm committing to this week:

+ deep breath. this is a big one, guys: i'm going to try to cut back on caffeine. i've been drinking so much coffee lately--too much. so i need to cut back. i'm going to try to replace with brewed-by-me green tea for the time being, and hopefully eventually with water. i've pretty much managed to cut all soda out of my diet, except for the occasional coke slurpee or diet coke, so i think i can do it.

+ not getting distracted by stupid, petty things. they take away from the bigger picture.

+ really starting to think about the future, and what i want from it.

+ trying to pick up running again. it's really, really, really hot--but it's also staying lighter later, and nothing beats the endorphins you get after a good jog. so yes, this too.

and you? what are your little goals for the week?

{ photo of my favorite anthropologie shoes by me }

what are you doing this weekend?

last night, i met up with some of my best friends in the whole wide world for dinner and drinks at a relatively new restaurant in sarasota's burns court. owen's fish camp is officially one of my new sarasota faves: the food is great, the location is perfection, and--best of all--it's a great place to hang out with the aforementioned best friends while sipping a beer (or two). 

i snapped the photo above when i was walking back to my car after dinner (owen's is at the far end, on the right). it's blurry, i know, but i love it. i used to walk this street almost every day going to and from my old job; it's one of my favorites in the whole city, especially at night, when the twinkle lights are turned on and everything is bathed in that golden, dusky, florida-summer glow. a perfect way to kick off the weekend.

speaking of the weekend, what are you up to over the next couple of days? my weekend so far consists of bowling and a wedding, which means it should be pretty eventful. i'll be back with a recap on monday; until then, have a wonderful few days! 

xoxo

{ photo by me }

summer lovin'.

rachel at black*eiffel posted these fabulous looks by calypso the other day, and i keep coming back to them  because, for me, they pretty much epitomize summer. i'm particularly smitten with looks two, four, seven and eight. style inspiration, for sure, and further proof that i should leave my wavy hair alone for the next few months.

p.s. i am looking for a cute hat like the one in look eight, but i have an exceptionally large head. any suggestions?
p.p.s. the word "calypso" is fun to say. it just sounds island-y, you know?

{ clothes by calypso, photo by rachel }

naked coconut.

sorry for the late post tonight, everyone--it's been a busy wednesday! how have your weeks been so far? i feel like we're finally over the hump, so to speak, and i'm hoping the weekend gets here quickly. i already have some fun plans for friday and saturday, so there's definitely a lot to look forward to.

anyway, as i sit here vegging on the couch in my gym shorts and t-shirt, i just wanted to share a new-to-me discovery: larry and luna's coconut bliss. i don't know if i've talked about how much i love coconut on this blog before, but i love both the scent and the taste with an intense burning passion. so, needless to say, i was thrilled to discover this frosty treat as i was randomly browsing the ice cream aisle at the grocery store tonight, looking for something sweet. guys, this is is officially the dessert of summer (and i promise this post isn't product placement; it's just my stomach in love). plus, to top it all off, it's gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sweetened with agave nectar, and--best of all--made with fair-trade ingredients.

yum. and yay. 


any treats you're loving lately?

{ photos by me }

love, actually.

there are not enough words to express how much and on how many levels i love, love, love this photograph. it literally makes me teary when i look at it. so i'm not even going to try. i'm just going to bookmark this post as one that i need to come back to whenever i feel even remotely sad or lonely, or need a reminder that love is everywhere, even in the littlest packages.

xoxo

{ via mary ruffle }

happy monday! + committing to...

good morning, good morning!

how were your weekends, everyone? did you have good ones? here in sarasota, it was so ungodly hot that it was honestly hard to want to go outside for any long period of time (this coming from a native floridian, mind you). i checked the temperature on saturday night and it was 85 degrees at 11 p.m. (!) with a feels-like temperature of 95, thanks to the oppressive humidity. ugh. that, coupled with the fact that every store and restaurant i visited seemed to be having air conditioner issues, made for a pretty uncomfortable couple of days--but it was nothing that raspberry fro-yo with fresh banana slices from whiteberry on saturday and good conversation with friends all weekend long couldn't cure. seriously, though, is it super-hot where you are, too?

anyway, i missed my little "committing to..." feature last week, so here's a fresh list for a fresh week. ready, set, go:

+ sleeping like a normal person. every night last week, i fell asleep with the light on, a book splayed open next to me, and--once--my laptop open and still on. if i'm that tired, i need to go to bed earlier.
+ embracing the wave in my hair. this is an odd one, i know, but i always try to flat-iron my naturally quite wavy hair into submission--maybe this summer (with the help of my beloved moroccan oil) will be the summer i let loose.
+ taking the saleable clothes from my closet to my favorite consignment shop, and the rest to goodwill.
+ not complaining about the heat. starting now.
+ keeping up with daily chores. i (and oscar--really) operate so much better in a clean house, and last week's tiredness and busyness kind of made me lax in that department.
+ and, as always, continuing to try to focus on the positive.

and you? xoxo!

{ lovely image--which makes me feel cool just looking at it--via {this is glamorous}. }

what are you doing this weekend?

there's no use fighting it, you guys: summer is here. in southwest florida, it's been hot and sticky, the kind of weather that makes everyone roll their eyes and say, "i can't wait to see what it's going to be like in august." but at the same time, there's a sense of joy in the air, too: summer means no school, kayaking, shorts, flip-flops,  ice cream from kilwin's, post-beach margaritas and daiquiris at the bars in siesta key village--the kind where you can roll off the beach, sandy and sun-kissed, slick back your wet hair, and sit down with your friends for talks and laughs.

this weekend, i'm going to think of all of that and hopefully partake in some of it, too. i'm also going to finish the fantastic book i'm reading: let the great world spin, by colum mccann. (seriously, you guys: amazing.) and i'm going to try to put the horrific oil spill out of my mind for a few days (sarasota will be getting some of it soon, it looks like, and the pictures on the news are completely heartbreaking). this post on courtney's blog made me cry when i read it--so come to think of it, maybe this weekend, instead of putting the spill out of my mind, i'll try to think of some ways to help, even if it just means sending love and good juju out into the ethos to all the louisianians and animals affected by this disaster so far.

but let's end this on a positive note. tell me: what are you up to this weekend? big plans? or are you taking it easy after last weekend's festivities? please share, and i'll see you back here monday morning! xoxo

{ image via sfgirlbybay. it just felt like home when i looked at it, you know? }

movie love + { giveaway winner! }

i can't wait to see this movie. love rachel mcadams, love young-people-coming-of-age-in-new-york-city stories. what movies are you looking forward to? (i also can't wait for eat, pray, love and the new drew barrymore/justin long movie, which kind of looks like this year's (500) days of summer.) 

p.s. the winner of the csnstores.com gift card giveaway is...angie! i used the random number generator at random.org to choose the winner, and it chose you, angie! i'll be in touch later today! congratulations, i'm so excited for you!

thank you so much to all who entered--i look forward to having more giveaways soon! and thanks, too, to the wonderful team at csnstores.com for sponsoring the contest. xoxo!

loving...

...these super-lovely pieces from babette's etsy shop. i love etsy so much; when it comes to finding the perfect gifts and jewelry (and much more), there's really no need to go anywhere else--right?

p.s. don't forget to enter the csnstores.com gift card giveaway! the contest closes tonight at 9 p.m. e.s.t.!

little letters.

dear kayaks in the photo above,
thank you for being a high point of my three-day weekend. (mine was the red one.)

dear sun,

ouch. 

dear sex and the city 2,
you were total fluff. but you were entertaining, and the perfect dessert after a sushi dinner with girlfriends.

dear universe,
i miss lola. i would like to adopt a dog. i know that this is probably not a good idea right now, but  i still wish you would send the perfect pup my way.

dear urban outfitters,
i really love all the awesome patterns you're carrying right now.

dear "committing to...,"
i'm taking a little break from you today, but i'll talk about what i accomplished this week on friday. ok?

dear let the great world spin,
i'm coming to get you. i hope you're as good as everyone says you are.

dear june,
hi.

dear readers,
happy tuesday. don't forget to enter the giveaway, ok?

xoxo!