Thankful Thursday! Late October..

Today I'm Thankful:

1. for the fall sun. it's so fresh and nostalgic all at the same time.

2. for the santa anas.

3. for the awesome opportunity for positive change i have in t-minus 3 hours.

4. for all of the chances i will have later today to be a better person.

5. for yoga.

6. for my pain-in-the-ass, but would-do-anything-for-me fiance.

7. for the alone time i got yesterday on a peaceful patio next to a fountain, with a book and a cheese plate.

8. for thinking of the 'what's the worst that could happen' scenarios and actually feeling better.

9. that our costumes are 95% complete.. this is actually EARLY for us! i just have to figure out a hat/headpiece and good to go.

10. for my taco salad.

11. for the blog world, and all of you out there in it. i love to live vicariously through you.

Scenes From a Friday Walk

{Psst.. Parts II, III, IV}

Bats by Tim Flach

Are you being coy with me?

The bat on the left adds its own flair.. look at the feet! 'Just hangin out..' (haw, I know, I couldn't resist)

I can't decide if it looks like the one on the left is scared and the right bat is being a comfort, 

or if its mad and the other one's saying 'Aw, c'mon, I didn't mean it..'

This one's hilarious!!!! {Reminds me of my own relationship sometimes}

I can't resist captioning these photos to myself every time I see them. Don't the bats look like kinda cute little dogs??

Tim Flach has a ton of breathtaking {and some wierd, and some gross} shots of the animal kingdom.

He shows the personalities of the creatures quite well, don't you think?

{I've never thought bats were cute before!}

{via}

Leaves

Remember my cutie nephew Levi? I find it hilarious that I'm the only one who calls him 'Leaves' and here he is,
getting into Fall Spirit with all his might! Leaves loves leaves!
I know, I am a huge Auntie Dork, but I can't stop looking at this adorable photo and chuckling to myself!  
{Plus you never know how long these kind of nicknames will stick!}

Photo by my talented oldest {younger} brother.

Thought for This Beautiful Fall Day

{image via}

Au coin de ma rue

..is a favorite haunt for style inspiration.

A lot of times I think I was not meant to be a California Girl. 'Daisy Dukes, Bikini On Top?' Yawn.
I can't wait to go to Amsterdam, Sweden, oh, just everywhere in Europe!



Corien (The Netherlands) has such a sass to her! Love it! (and her name.. sounds like an ethereal queen!)



Mathilde (Denmark) has a mysterious gaze and I love her hat! (and her name)



Emiel (The Netherlands) rocks simple style.



Kim (The Netherlands) is killin me with those shoes (with the thigh-highs..perf). Love 'em.



Susan (Germany) is so adorable and perky- she owns her extreme haircut.  
{remind me to show you some of my extreme haircuts sometime! oh yes, these were pretty mild.}

Au coin de ma rue means something to the effect of 'at the corner of my house' ~ isn't that cute?

I love her musings on why we have to stop and look at some people on the street and not even glance at others.. for instance:

"They all have an ‘intangible something’ that reflects into their expression. It’s like their body and face embrace entirely their personality."
{That is why I get tattoos! Each piece of art or special image makes my body feel more like 'me.' Love it.}

I'm going to be imagining these fun people while I'm locked down at work for the next five days, wearing a brown shirt, jeans and dirty Vans.

And dreaming of the day I can travel, take pictures, write, eat, shop, and make music, and worry about nothing else in life. :)

Thankful Thursday: Three Reasons

Three Reasons I have to be Happy Right Now:

1. My love and I have come a very long way together. When we first hooked up (eight years ago already!!) I was (barely) living at my parents' (back then they still lived in San Diego) and he was (barely) living with his. We both lived to party and racked up tons of debt. Now we have a home to call our own (renting is fine for now, it's still 'our' space!) and are working on ourselves to be balanced between responsible and carefree. We talk about our mutual and individual goals almost daily, and hold each other accountable for taking steps to achieve them. Life may not be a party now, but it feels good. Like we're learning to go with the flow but also to steer our lives.

2. I don't know which direction is right for me when it comes to work right now. Over the past months I have alternated between being absolutely sure one way and then absolutely sure of the opposite. Now I am in limbo, having placed myself here, and for once I am not panicking about it! It's just plain OK to not know. It's OK to not be moving in a specific direction for right now. And I'm happy to have found this place of ok-ness. My job is not my life. It is only a tool to enhance my life.

3. Our main financial concern is where to invest our extra money every month. I'm not saying this to brag (lord knows we still live in a tiny studio and share one car!), more to notice and appreciate the fact that we are not struggling to make ends meet anymore. We are only struggling to decide which dreams to make come true first. It's a big difference.. One to be celebrated! Also it feels great to have let go of the pressure to 'save.' We decided that for right now, it's better to move our lives forward (pilots' license, second vehicle, machine shop, building the airplane, traveling) than it is to have a pile of cash sitting in Uncle Sam's bank.

{P.S. I'm also Thankful that it's Fall, aren't you? (And everyone else in the blogosphere, lol)}

I Still Know Who She Is

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors and got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while as she is a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’

{image: Yep, those are our legs. It's weird to notice that my calf has acquired more tattoos since I took this two years ago.}
{story: via}

The Best Things In Life Are Small

{all images mine except the top one~ no idea where it came from, sorry!}

P.S. This makes the most perfect rainy day soundtrack.

Wuthering Moors

Sitting here, in my pjs, smelling the chocolate chip cookies I just baked and listening to the quiet rain before work,

I can't help but think of the lonely moors in one of my favorite childhood books~ The Secret Garden.

A homemade loaf of bread and a hot cup of tea next to a cozy hearth, in a cottage on the edge of a great wuthering moor,
listening to the loud lonely wind outside, sounds delicious right about now.

I can't wait to go to Europe.
Sigh. Someday.

Caramel Sea Salt Brownies

When we were up in Idaho in September, I made Olivia's Caramel Sea Salt Brownies.
They were surprisingly easy. Not surprisingly, deliciously addicting and rich! Like candy.
And they definitely get better and better the longer they sit in the fridge.
I would grab my rice milk in one hand and a brownie in the other and stand at the refrigerator and enjoy them right there!
One can't help but be so indulgent with these beauties nearby. Love it.

P.S. How adorable are my mom's little tulips in the window?? That woman always amazes me. 
:)

Thankful Thursday: Quality Times (yes I know it's Friday)

I'm Thankful...

That I've been able to spend some time once a week or so with my plp* lately. Yesterday we worked on clearing some cluttered energy out of her house, then went shopping and for Italian (& wine, of course!) It was glorious. It's so nice to have people in my life who I've known and have known me for so many years. Especially plp, who I can talk to about anything and everything and come out of the conversation feeling empowered, wise and sassy.

And thankful that this holiday season is upon us. I'm ready for birthdays and weddings and dressing up and bundling up and Idaho for Christmas!



(There was a glorious rainbow and we all had to gather on the porch to witness it ;)

*Platonic Life Partner. You know, BFF.

Daisies & Wildflowers

Yes. Laurel had the right idea, didn't she. LOVE.

{P.S. Those wide open spaces?? What a glorious setting.}

{via}

Silent Fascination

Yup, that's pretty much it.  Cute Kitty.  Worth viewing larger, for sure.   ;)
The more cuteness the better, right? 
P.S. That bed looks mighty inviting, doesn't it?


{via}

The Wisdom of Optimus

{via}

I Can Fix That!

Seatbelt broken? I can fix that!

Can't see the ATM screen? (Or worried someone will steal your pin?) I can fix that!

Car imported from the wrong country? I can fix that!

Wiper motor burned out? I can fix that!

WTF???

Cables keep falling behind the desk? I can fix that!

{Ok, is it bad that I would actually use this last one???}

{there are a ton of these here}

Good Things Come in Threes

Three Flickr Photostreams that I can get lost for hours in:



Sugaronion



Rona Keller {an all-time fave}



weepy hollow

Go ahead, divert thyself!  ;)

A Few of My Favorite Things

1. Indoor trees
2. Interesting flowers from the farmers' market (doesn't that one remind you of the sweeper brush doggy in Disney's Alice in Wonderland?)
3. Awesome morning light in my house
4. My piano
5. My sister's painting (you can barely see it in the top pic)
6. My bookshelves crammed with goodies

{These are a few of my favorite things!}

P.S. Happy 10-10-10!

Ensalada de Lucera

My friend Lucera*  brought this amazingly simple, refreshing salad in to work a while back and I am hooked.
I made it the other day, and it was the perfect lunch in the 111° San Diego Indian Summer heat.
*that's Lu-SED-uh, for those of you like me who need phonetic spelling

















Tomatoes, strawberries, avocado, and feta. No seasoning required. Brilliant, eh?
Reminds me of something Olivia would make!
P.S. It tastes even better if you eat it right then and there, without cleaning up first.
;)