What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday!

What are you doing this weekend? It's been a busy week for me, and next week is gearing up to be just as packed, so I'm looking forward to a few days off to read, relax, get my house in order (what a mess it is right now) and spend time with friends. I'm not particularly into Cinco de Mayo or the Kentucky Derby, but if you're celebrating either of those events, I hope you have a grand old time with a margarita and/or mint julep in hand.

And I know I don't usually do link lists, but here are a few things from around the web this week that I just can't help wanting to catalogue and share:

Gorgeous Longboat Key sunrise.

Have you ever lived alone? (I have for the past seven years, and I mostly love it.)

Bri's freelance advice column is an honest, helpful read for anyone who does freelance work.

I'd love to attend a Kinfolk magazine brunch, wouldn't you?

Lavender scones with lemon curd. Making this weekend (yum).

My current favorite place in Sarasota to have lunch/take meetings: Cafe Posh. 

Hila's post on Midnight in Paris, one of my favorite recent movies, is a wonderful read, and the stills from the movie are beautiful.

"Lovely does not mean everything an adjective can. Young ladies, especially, should give other words a chance." (via Rachel)

And some local ladies who are making a big splash in the blogosphere: Sarah Tucker, Naomi Chokr, Camilyn Beth and Leigh Growney (aka The Short Giraffe) -- check out this feature they produced for The Everygirl; it's wonderful.

What are your plans for the weekend, friends? Tell me, and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Photo of another Sarasota sunrise by Lewis Golburn. Isn't it dreamy?

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday!

First and most importantly, can we all squeal a collective "Awww!" at these photos of a baby elephant playing on a beach? Sometimes I see photos of animals and the sweetness factor overwhelms me so much that I want to cry (see: here), and these are no exception. I love elephants so much.

Secondly, how were your weeks? Mine was good, but really busy with a bunch of work projects, so I'm super glad it's the weekend. On the agenda for the next few days: a big closet clean-out, friend time, workouts, and these chocolate chip cookies (rediscovered via Emily/Kate's blogs). I've actually made them before and they are amazing, and this weekend seems like a good time to revisit. (Plus, since they have to chill for 36 hours, I can bake them on Sunday and then take most of them to work on Monday, which means less opportunity to stuff my face with them.)

What are your plans for the next few days? Tell me, and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Photo source, via Joanna

scenes from the weekend + committing to...

this weekend included a very quick trip to central florida to see one of my best friends who's in town for a brief visit from new york city. kaitlin and i went to undergrad together and both got our degrees in english; now she's working on her ph.d. in english lit at cuny.  she's one of the smartest, nicest, most generous people i know and while i miss her all the time, i'm so glad she's in new york doing exactly what she wants to do.

after having lunch at our favorite coffee shop (the scene of many wonderful meals during my four years at stetson), we ended up walking all over downtown deland and the stetson campus. i took photos, of course, some of which you can see above -- they are: 1. the athens theater, one of my favorite buildings ever; 2. the buttercup bakery, which is so cute and yellow; 3. beautiful elizabeth hall, which is sort of the epitome of stetson; 4. pretty windows on elizabeth hall that i would somehow like to replicate in my future home; 5. the stetson quad; 6. architectural details on flagler hall, aka the english department building, aka my former home away from home; 7. kaitlin and me (side note: you can see some of my ombre highlights, which i'm so happy with).

so it was a great weekend (capped off by a visit to my beloved yum yum cupcake truck before i headed back to sarasota on sunday), and i'm looking forward to an equally great but busy week. here are my little goals for the next few days:

1. prioritize. i have a bunch of projects swirling around and i really need to get them in order.
2. continue with the regimented exercise -- now that the holidays are over, it's so nice to be back in a routine and i'm excited to keep it up.
3. try out a new recipe. (any suggestions?)
4. keep the house clean. have not been keeping up like i should be lately.
5. smile.

how about you -- what are your goals (or what are you looking forward to) this week?

photos by me

what are you doing this weekend?

i posted a comment the other day on anna's blog in response to her post about steve jobs' death, and i feel like this part of it -- the last paragraph -- sums up a lot of my feelings right now (it's also a bit of a reiteration of what i said earlier this week):

"my grandmother passed away last week at the age of 95. we were very close; she was an amazing woman: an educator and an advocate of social justice, but also someone who rode her bicycle well into her 80s and enjoyed bird-watching from her back porch. she lived a full, happy life, and she made others’ lives richer and more beautiful just by being here. when i found out she died, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. 

i felt the same way when i read the news about steve jobs (while browsing the internet on my macbook, appropriately). i never knew him — i was more acquainted with the idea of him, as most of us were — but i use his products all day, every day. and i feel like he gave the world the same experience my grandmother gave me. he made it better, more beautiful. richer. i love that the dedication on apple’s website says that “steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of apple.” it seems so apt. 

it’s hard, personally, to lose two people who were so important to me, albeit in such different ways, in the course of 10 days. i feel like there’s a lot of grieving still to be done. but i feel like both my grandmother and steve jobs would want me — and us all — to move forward, to be better as a result of this experience. so that’s what i’m taking away from it all: move forward, and be better."

yes.

the weekend is going to be a quiet one; i really need to kind of get it together after living rather randomly for the past week and a half. my house is a mess, i need to do laundry and dishes, and i'd like to make some meals that will get me through next week (i'm thinking a big pot of hearty soup sounds really great). i'm also planning on going to the farmer's market and maybe doing some furniture rearranging in my house (my darling felines have clawed apart one of my favorite chairs and it either needs to be moved or replaced). there will be time with friends and time alone, and i'm looking forward to all of it.

how about you? what are your plans or the next few days? whatever they are, i hope they are lovely and autumnal. thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your wonderful comments this week, too -- they mean a lot (they always do).

see you back here on monday.

photo by *cinnamon. its title is "the swerve and the static"; isn't that pretty?