garden beginnings

My dad's garden is starting to bloom and bear fruit. I got to hang out there for just a little while after my sister's graduate. Sitting in the sun, enjoying the occasional breeze, watching for birds, and basking in the silence - these are some of the simplest pleasures, but certainly the most profound.

Every time I visit my parents, I wonder why I don't live in the country. I have always thought that the greatest tragedy of life is that we only get one. By making one decision, we have removed the opportunity to make a different one. This isn't necessarily a "good" or a "bad" thing, but it does mean that it is impossible to avoid regret. I love my life, including where I live and who I live there with, but a part of me - a very big part of me - desperately wants a quiet street and a simple house filled with sticky, unkempt little people who look like me and are learning to speak with a drawl. And a garden.

college grad

This weekend, my little sister graduated from college! After four years of hard work, she has earned her bachelor's in English Literature (just like me!).




I am so incredibly, indescribably proud of her. It's amazing how one day we were all kids together, and now my siblings and I all have college degrees. I know that my parents are very proud. It's something they always wanted for us, and I am so happy that they have seen one of their best hopes for their children realized.






Congrats, Jen! I hope you enjoy this moment in life and are presented with every opportunity to make dreams and follow them.

learning esperanto

To add to my ridiculous and ever-growing list of exotic/oddball/whack-a-doo hobbies, I recently decided to teach myself Esperanto. So far, I can say "I love to paint" (Mia amas farbi) and "Your cat is fat" (Via kato estas grasa). Not bad for two week's study!

But why? you and several other people, including the desk clerk at the public library, may ask. Esperanto is a made-up language that nobody even speaks. Why waste the time and risk the inevitable cool points you will loose pursuing this fruitless endeavor?

Well put, Internet. I'm glad you asked.

Because I believe that there isn't enough purposeful hope in this world, and Esperanto is the most blatantly hopeful concept I could possibly imagine. It was, no lie, conceived and created with the intention of removing communication barriers so that people of all nations could begin to confront the mistrust, paranoia, and violence that lead to prejudice and war. It is a linguistic middle ground (granted, a closer middle ground for those who speak Latin-based languages), a neutral base for open discussion. Literally, an instrument of world peace. How freaking cool is that!?

(Ok, and it doesn't hurt that it's totally pure and perfect and so much fun to learn. There, I said it. I'm a nerd.)

As a self-admitted, at time surprisingly tenacious Pollyanna, I can't help but be drawn to a language that takes it's name from a word that means one who hopes. But here we have the crux of the matter. I feel the need to downplay my optimism by labeling myself a Pollyanna, a term denoting willful ignorance and naivete, not passionate belief in the possibility of good. Why do we Americans act like engaging in unprejudiced hopefulness is tantamount to believing in Santa Claus, responding to email scams, or buying trinkets in Galveston (like a yellow box with a picture of a palm tree that was priced down to $2.99 because one of the seashells fell off that of course I would never buy)?

I, for one, and tired of living in constant fear of looking like a tourist or a fool.

The longer I live, I'm finally realizing how pointless it is to try to be cool. Not that it's unattainable, but that it just doesn't matter. Things that resonate with our souls matter. To me, silks matters, Esperanto matters, and hope matters. Looking out to the world in all it's vastness and the people in all their complexity instead of inward to the limits of my own self, that is when I can see my role in the world and how to contribute positivity and love.

So, I will learn my hope language and write things that none of you understand, and it. will. be. awesome.

outfit // union jack

occasion: brunch / shirt: Gap (last worn) / jacket: Old Navy (last worn) / jeans: Gap (last worn) / shoes: Grasshoppers / sunnies: Ray Ban (last worn)

Well, look at that, I done cut my hair again! Although there is little photographic evidence, I have had it this short once before. After V for Vendetta rocked everyone's world, I went into the salon and boldly declared, "Make me look like Natalie Portman!" The resulting look was...unfortunate. It only took me seven years to re-muster the courage.

Much like spunky hair styles, my adoration for denim jackets is long-standing. I'm preeeetty sure that my best friend and both I purchased this particular one in high school. We were always doing that - unwittingly buying the same clothes. Every now and then, we'd inadvertently wear the same outfit to school, which was always an event of tragic proportions. God help us if no one had a coat in her locker. I remember a particular red tank top purchased from L'Patricia with a union jack printed on the front that was particularly problematic.

Man, I wish I still had that thing.

life lately // blessings

Sometimes I have to step back and awe at all the amazing things in my life. I hesitate to use the word "blessings" because I don't exactly feel that any one particular being has bestowed these things upon me, but I have a hard time finding another word that fits so perfectly. Maybe we can just agree that I have been blessed by the Universe?


luscious Texas spring roses

The past couple weeks have been hella stressful. Work has not been easy, life is just piling up, and that nagging anxiety has tried to creep back in. I think of myself as vibrating when I get like this...always jiggling my foot, darting my eyes, humming snatches of repetitive songs because my brain just. won't. shut. down.

The stress road is not one that I want to go down, so I have been trying to take care of myself and keep as calm as possible. The other day, I looked around my office as I wrote down a little idea in my notebook. I keep a running journal of business and art ideas as I dream about creating and selling my art on a larger scale some day. Then it dawned on me what a beautiful thing it is to be able to dream. To know that I can, not only just get by, but also plan for a future that is even better than my present.

So many people aren't as lucky as I am, and I am struck dumb in those moments when I know - truly realize - how much of this big, beautiful, varied world is accessible to me. How little I have to fight for survival. How many people love me wholeheartedly on a daily basis.

These words are so inadequate, but they are all that I have, and I just really felt the need to thank the Universe for doing me the massive solid of giving me this wonderful life. So thanks, Internet, for giving me a vent for happiness.

outfit // the giggles

occasion: brunch / dress: Express (last worn) / shoes: Steve Madden (last worn) / purse: vintage Coach (last worn) / watch: Michael Kors (last worn) / bracelet: Privileged (last worn)

Austin iPhone photos again. This time, people kept passing by, it was incredibly awkward, and Corban and I both got a serious case of the giggles. Most of the photos were completely unusable, but I don't really care. We had a good ol' time.

Can we see a pattern here? Comfortable and cute, to me, means a cotton dress and sandals. To be honest, I am happiest when my feet and arms can breathe. I am so stoked that summer has found its way back. Not sure where it went, but I hope it never goes there again.

It was a super short trip, so everyone stuck around a bit to hang out at Spiderhouse Cafe and shop Wonder Space Bazaar before heading back to Dallas. There is really nothing better than amazing weather, a breezy dress, and some great friends in Austin, TX.

diary comic // the day your birthday cake falls on your shoes

If you've been around my bit of the internet a long freaking time, you may remember diary comics. I haven't comic-ed in yars and yars, but I sketched out a little one on my lunch break the other day. Here's the back story: on my fourth birthday, the cake fell on my shoes. Life, she is tragic.

april #ootd

Last month was clearly all about prints. My prediction about spring fashion trends was right! Maybe our clothes really do reflect our moods. I'm always happier when days are longer and weather is warmer...so perhaps the perky prints are the best way of gauging that my happy levels are definitely up.





Also colors! I definitely gravitated more towards cheerful springy hues in April. I love me some uber bright colors, but I always feel a bit more comfortable when I pair them with something more neutral like dark jeans or a grey cardi. It doesn't matter how hard spring has sprung, I'm still quite the introvert, inside and out.





I know I'll be complaining about the Texas heat soon enough, but I really can't wait to wear dresses and shorts every day! Soon enough, Chelle, soon enough.

P.S. To join in the grand adventure of me wearing clothes every day, follow the old instagram.

life lately // the little things

Some days, life just seems to take more out of me than others. Even though I work almost exactly 37.5 hours per week every week, sometimes it easy, and sometimes I have to wring those 37.5 hours from myself like a dried-out dish cloth. I've been having a couple of those looooong weeks (insomnia! fender benders!), but I have stayed positive by focusing on the little things in life.




1 // Planning Adventures. Corban and I have been talking about visiting England forever, and this summer we're finally doing it! This weekend, we sat down to plan our itinerary, and I even bough some comfy touristy walking shoes!




2 // Private smiles. Princess Bride posters in the library and thoughtful little notes from my love will always make me smile. All day, err day.




3 // New hobbies. Because hippy-dippy, citizen-of-the-world universal languages and firearms for sport so obviously go together. Mi estas enigma virino. (do not worry, no animals or humans were harmed in the making of this blog post...unless clay pigeons count)




4 // Silliness. Patrick Stewart, aka Jean-Luc Picard, aka Love of My Life on a pinball machine and Neapolitan shots in plastic cups? Uhm, yes, please.




5 // Shrimp moose. So peaceful. So cute. So shrimpy.


Even when life is busy, there is always something, however small, to give me a serious case of the happy face. What about you? I'd love to know what's making you smile today.

P.S. - You can follow my life in pictures on instagram.

outfit // 6th Street, Austin

occasion: 6th Street, Austin / dress: LC Lauren Conrad / shoes: Steve Madden (last worn) / cardigan: Banana Republic (last worn) / purse: vintage Coach (last worn) / sunnies: Ray Ban (last worn)

Simplest. Outfit. Ever. This dress is the most comfortable thing I own, which is probably why it never made it onto the blog before now. It's amazing because this was basically my uniform all last summer.

Excuse the iPhone quality photos, but when I'm traipsing around ATX, I'm usually way too busy relaxing the crap out of it to bother carrying the nice camera. My only regret is that you can't see how truly fuschia my lipstick is. It's a new thing I'm trying, and I have to say that it makes me feel Bad.Ass.