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

Love letter to Sarasota.

Some days are desk days: Eight hours in front of the computer, answering the occasional phone call, responding to email, getting up only for lunch or to take a lap around the office.

Some days are meeting days: Meetings in the conference room under fluorescent lights, meetings spent cradling the phone between ear and shoulder, meetings held while clutching oversize cups of coffee at Starbucks or a local cafe.

And some days are only-in-Sarasota days: Days when the sun shines so brightly, when the sky is such a brilliant shade of blue, and when the air is so crisp and springlike that you can't help pulling over (after a meeting, of course, this one on the very south end of Siesta Key), taking off your shoes, and dipping your toes into sand that looks almost glittery and a Gulf of Mexico that is such a beautiful shade of aquamarine that it almost looks fake.

Yesterday was one of those days.

(Dear Sarasota: Sometimes I love you so much it hurts.)

Happy Thursday, friends.

Photo: my own. Yes, my feet really are that white.

Working girl.

I try really hard not to blatantly repost other bloggers' content, but when I saw a post about Industry of One on Victoria's blog, I knew I had to share here, too. Industry of One is a super-rad site (founded by Adam Patrick Jones and Rachel Brown) that documents the relationship between personal and professional style -- i.e., how someone's job influences what they wear and how they live. I'm totally hooked and can't wait to see more.

And I'm also curious: What's your work style? I work in a creative field, so my wardrobe doesn't vary much from day to night (or weekday to weekend -- you know, minus the whole shorts-and-flip-flops thing). A typical work outfit for me consists of jeans, heels/flats and a cute top, or a little dress and heels. No suits, ever. And while that's not likely to change, I do want to branch out a little more this summer -- maybe try some different patterns, wear more skirts, embrace the bright pants trend further. How about you?

Photos: Industry of One

A snapshot of life lately.

Lazy weekends, movies, long walks, snuggles, some surprisingly cool end-of-April weather, friends, birthday celebrations, wine, flowers, meeting amazingly talented people for a new work project...

...and pancakes.

Lots and lots (and lots) of pancakes.

Photo: my own, taken with Instagram.

The padlocks of Paris.

Shoko's post about travel yesterday mentioned the love locks of Paris, something I'd never heard of. So I did a little research and discovered that they are padlocks chained to Parisian bridges by couples who want to create a (mostly) permanent memorial of their love. I think the idea is pretty cool, but Parisian government seems to think otherwise: Apparently it's tried to cut off the locks, although visitors to the bridges, unsurprisingly, keep replacing them.

Even more interesting: There are love locks in many other countries, including China (where it's customary for couples to "lock their souls" together and then--literally--throw away the key), Italy, Germany and Canada. What do you think of the trend--tacky or kind of romantic?

Photo by Beryl Byrd