into the mystic.

i woke up this morning with the worst sinus headache ever -- most likely due to the strange weather we've been having lately (weeks of 90-degree-plus temps followed by a full week of humid, gray, rainy days). needless to say, i've already popped some advil and am hoping it kicks in soon -- but until it does, these beautiful, soothing photos of misty landscapes by ben petreath (discovered via the lovely katy) are helping me as well. they just make you feel calm, don't they?

color story.

some summer fashion inspiration, via the sartorialist. i think i need a pink skirt and an armful of chunky, colorful bracelets now, too.

the weekend + committing to...

five happy things from the week that was (not just the weekend!):

+ a dinner date with three of my favorite girlfriends in the whole wide world. greek food and cocktails, you never fail me.
+ some thrifting that yielded two new pairs of pants for work (both in a smaller size than i've been wearing, eep!). success! (p.s., thank you, kate.)
+ homemade -- vegan, at that -- banana bread. more on this later this week.
+ confirming travel plans (and booking my mom a little surprise treat) for next week's days off. so excited.
+ an increasingly less shy zadie (she is such a love) and an increasingly more friendly oscar.

and five commitments for the upcoming week:

+ meal planning. i can't tell you how helpful this is for me on all sorts of levels (particularly the level that has made me a human garbage disposal lately).
+ spin classes! yay! i missed them so.
+ break out the camera. i need to take more photographs.
+ pick up a new book.
+ practice patience. yes. amen.

photo by mathias

what are you doing this weekend? + zadie the cat

happy friday, friends!

what a week it's been--today i looked at an email i wrote on monday and was thought, "didn't i send that two weeks ago?" things have been particularly busy at the office, especially considering we have a company-wide four days off in two weeks--everyone's scrambling to get things done. plus, there've been dinners with friends, extracurricular projects and, now, a new addition to my little apartment.

that's right: zadie the cat came to live with me last sunday! i wish i had a good picture to show you, but she was so shy until, like, yesterday that i haven't gotten any great snaps. here's a not-so-great one (ok, it's terrible, but at least you can see her); you'll be happy to learn that, although she's still scared of oscar and is adjusting to my apartment, she is the cutest, cuddliest, sweetest little thing you'll ever meet. i'll take better pictures this weekend. this blog can always use a cat-themed post, right?

so aside from spending time with the felines this weekend, i'll also be celebrating a new friend's birthday on saturday night and, hopefully, getting some exercise (i started spin classes again this week and they are amazing!) and doing a deep-clean of my apartment--it's about that time, especially since i'm preparing to go on a little vacation soon. going to the farmer's market would be nice, too.

what are your plans for the next few days? whatever they are, i hope you have a perfectly sunny, summery weekend. see you back here on monday.

p.s. my best friend jenn is moving across the country today for a new job--huge congratulations to her! she's one of the kindest, smartest, strongest people i know--the kind of person who can empathize with the best of them but also has no qualms about telling it like it is--so i'm positive she's going to completely kick ass. xoxo to you, jenn!

photo (doesn't that drink look refreshing?) by brian ferry

the invention of light.

"and so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, i had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."

(f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby)

i  know it was officially yesterday, but: happy summer, friends.

photo by irene s.

loving: candy-colored cabinets.

yes, this is a total reblog, but i'm so crazy for these cabinets i don't even care. if i didn't live in a rental, i would totally copy this idea. love it -- and the accompanying all-white furniture (perfect!) -- with an intense burning passion.

from agent bauer, via anthology magazine

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, friends--the weekend is upon us. what are your plans? i'm capping off a busy week (during which i also made some summer travel plans!) by heading up to central florida to see my family: today is my brother's 23rd birthday, and of course it's father's day, as well. i'm excited to celebrate, make a stop at my favorite cupcakerie (this seems to be a trend for me), sleep in and catch up with friends. 

plus, here's a little secret: my beloved feline, oscar, is getting a sister cat this weekend. my friend kaitlin, the kindest, most animal-loving person i know, took in several stray kittens a few years ago but has to adopt them out because she's moving to new york city for graduate school in july. i love cats -- we always had at least three growing up, plus a dog -- so i'm happy to take in this little fluff. i'll post some pictures on monday.

until then, have a spectacular summer weekend. 

photo by angela + ithyle

loving: jordan's colorful living room.

though she's currently living in paris, jordan shared photos of her san francisco apartment's living room on her blog this week, and honestly: i wish i could copy of the entire thing and plop it into my own home. love, love, love all the color and pattern.

photos by jordan

just pretty.

 

just some pretty for your tuesday. i love the colors in both of these photos.

i seem to have lost the photo credit for these images; if you know, please comment with it!

the weekend + committing to...

five happy incidents from the weekend:

1. barbecue and midnight in paris -- which was so beautifully filmed -- with my friend steph and her husband, logan, at the coolest little movie theater.
2. an impromptu sunday-morning visit from my parents, who were in nearby st. petersburg for a wedding (yay) that led to pancakes at my favorite breakfast spot (double yay).
3. accomplishing (at least part of) my mission to find some easy-breezy summer dresses on the cheap, because, people: it is too hot for pants.
4. endless sunshine.
5.drinking wine and eating avocados (yes, seriously) and talking-talking-talking with my friend k. at her house. sometimes it's the little things, you know?

five commitments for the upcoming week:
1. adhere --well, loosely adhere, at least -- to whole living's "reboot camp." read more about it here.
2. get the laundry situation under control. yikes. and related: take bagged clothes from last week's purge to goodwill.
3. start each day with a little pilates.
4. i'm going to recycle one from last week here, but: continue to cut back on the sugar.
5. catch up/make plans with friends i haven't seen in awhile. (this, of course, is less a commitment than it is something awesome.)

and you? please share!

i snapped the above photo on a sunset stroll last night. sometimes i love sarasota so much it's almost overwhelming.

where the magic happens.

as you know, i've been thinking a lot about writing lately, and to some extent i've also been pondering writing spaces. this one, photographed by the lovely and talented laure joliet for the new york times, is so pretty, isn't it? i can't get enough of the way the light is streaming through the stained glass windows.

loving: keri russell's brooklyn brownstone.

i'm not going to lie, i have a bit of a girl crush on keri russell, her effortless personal style and, now, her home. these pictures from elle decor have been making the blog rounds, but i couldn't resist cataloging them here, as well. they're just so pretty.

photos by william waldron for elle decor

baked!: summery lemon squares ( + my lemon love)

i think that if i were forced to pick my all-time favorite citrus, lemon would be it -- and in fact, lemon would probably be my all-time favorite fruit, too. i realize this may sound odd coming from a born-and-bred florida girl -- i mean, we love our oranges here -- but from taste to scent, lemon is my number one.

i went to a barbecue at one of my best friends' homes over memorial day weekend, and when i asked what to bring for dessert (because we all know i'm always going to bring dessert), she suggested lemon squares. so after poking around for recipes on the internet, i finally settled on deb's adaptation of ina's lemon squares.

i wasn't disappointed. these bars look and taste like summer. they're the perfect mix of tart and sweet, and the sift of powdered sugar that tops them puts them right over the edge. plus, they're so easy to whip up -- honestly, the hardest part is waiting for the sugar-cookie crust to cool completely.

oh, and full disclosure: the deb version of this treat is more equal in the crust-to-filling department than ina's, and she recommends shortening the cooking time. i somehow missed that note and left them in my oven longer than i should have, and they were still perfect -- maybe a touch more, um, solid than they would be with a shorter bake time, but lacking nothing in the flavor and texture department. make them!

the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, everyone -- how were your weekends? mine was great; i got to try out a new restaurant -- euphemia haye -- as part of savor sarasota restaurant week, spend time with friends and purge a bunch of clothes from my closet (!). also, my car seems to be properly functioning again, and i managed to try a new workout -- piloxing -- that i think is going to become part of my regular routine. oh! and my best friend and i won $100 from a dollar scratch-off lotto ticket -- she bought me one as a present and i won, so we split (which is our deal with things like this). an auspicious start to a new week, i hope.

and speaking of, the next seven days are going to be busy, but i'm looking forward to them -- and also looking forward to getting back on the right track on the health front. the end of last week brought with it multiple lunches and dinners for work, and while i love food and eating, meals like that right on top of one another make me feel kind of gross. also, my sweet tooth has been out of control lately, as evidenced by the fact that i found myself standing in front of the fridge on saturday night eating caramel sauce (that i'd made for another baking project) out of its container with a spoon.

um, yeah.

anyway, i think my sweet tooth is the perfect way to segue into this week's five commitments, which are as follows:

+ less sugar. obviously.

+ more yoga, which i'm so into right now.

+ portion control. i'm good at eating sensible portions when cooking for myself, but i tend to forget proper portions when i'm out. so: work on that. and i have the opportunity to do so at a dinner tonight. will report back.

+ you know that saying about dressing for the job you want? i need to step out of my jeans and into some skirts, dresses and regular pants. i work in a creative field so jeans are ok, but purging my closet this weekend -- and reading kendi's tips about assessing and shopping -- has started to make me rethink my work style philosophy.

+ stop and appreciate the beauty around me whenever possible. the drive up longboat key to the restaurant on saturday night was so beautiful i almost got choked up -- beachy homes on one side, the gulf on the other, all glowing in the light of the setting sun. sometimes i forget how beautiful sarasota is.

i promise to be a better blogger this week, and will be back with a new baked!, a new scenes from sarasota and possibly a new book "review," too. until tomorrow, friends.

photo by .natasha., who has the most beautiful flickr i think i've ever seen.

deep breaths.

sorry i've been so quiet this week -- it's been insanely busy around here. i was in naples all day yesterday for work, played catch-up on everything i missed today, have a work lunch and dinner tomorrow, a schedule for the weekend already...and in the midst of it all, my car decided to break down, so a large chunk of change flew out the window this afternoon.

see? busy! (although admittedly mostly good busy. minus the car thing.)

i probably won't be posting again until friday, so until then, i hope your weeks have been ridiculously good and are flying by. and i hope you enjoy this images -- it looks like a breath of fresh air feels, yes?

photo: valerie chiang